Washington Avenue is fully open again after a reconstruction project that began in March and reshaped Cedarburg's southern gateway. The city marked the completion Thursday morning with a ribbon cutting as crews removed the final orange barrels, ending months of closures, detours and road work.
The work extended from Lincoln Boulevard in the north to Pioneer Road in the south, with full road reconstruction and resurfacing, new crosswalks and sewer upgrades along the corridor. According to TMJ4 News, City Administrator Mikko Hilvo said the roughly $3.9 million project finished days early and under budget. Hilvo and Mayor Pat Thome said the work had been a long time coming and took several months to complete.
“We appreciate your patience and support,” Thome said, according to the station's report. The report also quoted Mike Wieser, the city's director of engineering and public works, saying the finished project made the months of inconvenience worthwhile.
Months of Shifting Detours Tested Neighbors' Patience
Earlier coverage by the same station described periodic full closures, changing detours and traffic routed through nearby residential streets as work progressed. The construction disrupted neighbors and businesses along the route. In the spring, a city engineer told the station that two lanes were expected to reopen in time for Strawberry Fest at the end of June, with full construction scheduled to finish by November at the latest.
The Ozaukee County News Graphic had reported a scheduled completion date of Nov. 6, while noting the work could finish earlier. Its update came as crews shifted traffic onto the east two lanes and closed the west two for reconstruction. Thursday's reopening fell within that reported schedule.
Piggly Wiggly Felt the Pinch of Fewer Drivers
TMJ4 News reported that Olsen's Piggly Wiggly, on Washington Avenue, was among the businesses affected. Owner Ryan Olsen, who runs the store with his wife Megan, told the station that sales fell about 10 to 15 percent as drivers avoided the area. He said the slowdown led the store to launch an ad campaign called Open Roads, Hot Deals to bring shoppers back.
Olsen told the station the store was welcoming the community back to the south business district. The report also described resident Barbara Matovina's grocery trips along Washington Avenue during the changing traffic patterns and closures. She said she had not realized how much work the road needed until construction began and that her trip to the gas station was quick and easy again.
How the City Paid for the Rebuild
The reconstruction traces back to a Common Council decision awarding a construction contract to Vinton Construction Company at a cost not to exceed $3,293,003.20, according to the Ozaukee County News Graphic. That bid was the lowest of six submitted, coming in roughly $1.35 million below the engineer's estimate and within the city's budget. The newspaper reported the stretch under reconstruction ran from 175 feet north of Lincoln Boulevard to the city limits south of Pioneer Road.
The paper also reported that the contract's cost was split among the city's street, storm sewer, sanitary sewer and water budgets, reflecting the scope of underground work paired with the surface rebuild. Construction inspection services for the project, handled by raSmith, came to a total of $160,776, per the same account.
The Road in Cedarburg's Capital Plan
The completed project's reported cost is separate from a planning figure in the City of Cedarburg's Feb. 10, 2025 financial-management presentation, which listed $3.0 million for Washington Avenue from Lincoln to the city limits in its 2026 capital improvement plan. The city's 2025 budget said Cedarburg would begin borrowing for street projects that year as part of its broader infrastructure priorities.
