County to seek road repair deal with Vantage

Unlike the City of Port Washington, Ozaukee County does not have an agreement with Vantage Data Centers to repair county roads damaged by heavy trucks serving the development.

But that could soon change.

“I will probably be giving them a call,” County Highway Commissioner Jon Edgren said last week.

Dozens of heavy trucks carrying tons of dirt and rock traverse county Highway A and KW every day. In addition, traffic is being diverted onto those roads while Highway LL is closed as sewer and water lines are extended to the data center site.

That work is expected to be completed by the end of February.

About 800,000 cubic yards of soil will be removed from the Vantage Data Centers’ Lighthouse Campus construction site and shipped to areas around the state.

At the same time, tons of gravel and stone are being trucked to the data center land.

Plus, semis carrying wide loads of equipment and tankers, have created headaches for local drivers and threaten to damage local roads, including those maintained by the county.

Dozens of trucks travel north on KW, then west on Highway A to Highway 57 and go north.

Edgren said he has received few complaints about the condition of the county roads.

Town roads such as Lake Drive are less able to handle the stress caused by the heavy vehicles. County roads on the other hand are designed to handle truck traffic, but not at such a high volume.

As highway commissioner, Edgren said he does not need approval from county supervisors to make an agreement with Vantage to repair the roads, but he said he will probably bring the issue to supervisors on the Public Works Committee when it meets in February.

Committee Chairman Marty Wolf said he has not received any complaints about  the condition of the roads but has received comments about the traffic volume.

“I think it’s something worth discussing,” he said.

Sheriff Christy Knowles said earlier this month that her department has received complaints from residents living along routes used by construction crews, and her department has implemented directed patrols to ensure trucks are complying with the law and has deputies patrolling the affected areas on all three shifts.

Her office has also deployed speed display trailers to “monitor speeds and provide a visual reminder to drivers in an effort to reduce speed.”

The State Patrol is also helping with enforcement, she said, including monitoring truck weight limits.