Wisconsin DOT responsible for repairing guardrails on I-41 and State 441 in Neenah-Menasha
Reader question: When will the state or county highway crews replace the damaged guardrails near Menasha and Neenah? They’ve been damaged for over five months. The locations include State 441 by the Little Lake Butte des Morts bridge and along Interstate 41.
Answer: The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is responsible for repairing guardrails after a crash on interstate and state highways, and it contracts with county highway departments for the work. In this case, that's Winnebago County.
Mark Kantola, communications manager for the DOT's Northeast Region, said county highway departments "do a fabulous job" on maintenance and snowplowing in the winter. He said it would be unusual for any guardrail to be damaged for five months.
After checking with a maintenance supervisor regarding a damaged guardrail on the I-41 northbound ramp to eastbound U.S. 10/State 441 in Fox Crossing, Kantola reported that the guardrail is scheduled for repair soon.
"It's not been five months," he said. "It's been probably around two months, maybe a little more. It's been scheduled to be repaired on three different occasions. On those occasions, the crews were called out for snow — to plow the roads. It's on schedule to get fixed ASAP."
Related: New Neenah roundabout should be driven at 15 mph, not 40 mph as sign says
Watchdog Q&A: Duke Behnke answers your local government questions
Kantola checked the maintenance report for Winnebago County and noticed a number of guardrail repairs have been completed in the past two months. Repairs were made on U.S. 10 west of Winnebago County CB and on U.S. 10/State 441 between State 47 and Midway Road.
"We did seven spots on (State) 441, fixing guardrails after that big storm" in December, Kantola said.
Motorists who crash into state-owned guardrails or barrier walls are responsible for the cost of repairing or replacing them, Kantola said.
Each week the DOT posts on its 511wi.gov website a list of maintenance projects that will affect traffic on interstate and state highways in Wisconsin. The most recent list for the Northeast Region identifies seven projects in Outagamie County, including two guardrail repairs. It lists one project each in Brown, Door and Oconto counties. No work is listed for Winnebago County.
The list covers only projects that affect traffic. Smaller projects that don't result in a lane or shoulder closure aren't listed.
Post-Crescent reporter Duke Behnke answers your questions about local government. Send questions to dbehnke@gannett.com or call him at 920-993-7176.
SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM: Our subscribers make this coverage possible. Click to see The Post-Crescent's special offers at postcrescent.com/subscribe and download our app on the App Store or Google Play.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Wisconsin DOT is aware of damaged guardrails and is working on repairs
