Huge project, big traffic changes

Traffic generated by the massive workforce constructing the Vantage Data Centers Lighthouse Campus on Port Washington’s north side and trucks carrying loads of materials to the site will be so significant that several roads and a freeway interchange will have to be modified over the next two months.

The work, which includes everything from traffic lights at the I-43 ramps on the city’s north side to the widening of intersections throughout the area, will be done in the coming month or two to keep traffic flowing throughout the construction project, Port City Engineer Roger Strohm said.

“There’s a lot of extra traffic that’s going to move through there,” he said.

That traffic includes as many as 5,000 construction workers and trucks delivering large, heavy loads to the data center site.

The timeline for the road projects hasn’t been determined yet, Strohm noted, but the improvements will likely be completed in the coming months.

“I could see it happening quickly,” he said.

It will likely happen after Highway LL is repaved, a project expected to begin next week and take about two weeks to complete, he said.

While it may seem like traffic lights at the I-43 ramps would slow traffic, engineers from Graef, an engineering and planning company working on the project, told the Common Council last week that is not the case.

The signals will be coordinated with the existing lights at Wisconsin Street and Highway LL to ensure the smooth flow of traffic, engineer Alex Motl said, noting the timing of the lights will ensure traffic will keep moving and not back up onto the freeway.

Without the lights, she said, traffic could back up and create delays on the freeway.

Ald. Dan Benning asked how long the lights will be kept in place. Motl said they will be there throughout the construction of the data center, which is expected to be completed in 2028.

The ramps themselves will also be widened, giving traffic a little extra room, Motl said.

Other improvements include widening the lanes to increase the turning radius at the intersections of Highland Lane and Highland Drive and at Highland Lane and Highway LL.

On Lake Drive, there will be added turn lanes and wider turning radius at highways KW and LL.

“We want to get construction traffic out of the traffic lanes,” Motl said.

In addition, a flashing beacon will be installed on Highland Lane and Drive so bicyclists and pedestrians can warn motorists they are crossing on the Ozaukee Interurban Trail.

Motl told the Common Council that the plans were developed and shared with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, which has given conceptual approval to the project.

Graef submitted final plans for the project to the DOT earlier this month, she said, and is waiting for the necessary permits.

As significant as the projects are, they are not permanent measures, Motl added.

“These improvements will actually be removed when construction (of the data center) is complete,” she said.

The Ozaukee County Highway Department is expected to do much of the roadwork, City Administrator Melissa Gossett said.

The ramp work and traffic signals will likely be done by a contractor, not the county, Strohm added.

Strohm said he expects that the work on the intersections and turn lanes will be done without any road closures.

“They should be able to keep the roads open,” he said, although they may need to employ flagmen to ensure safety during the work.

Work on each intersection will probably take about a week to complete, Strohm said.