The opportunity or challenge?  The intersection of County Highways K and WW had one of the highest accident rates in Marathon County. CTH K is the county’s most heavily traveled rural highway, and CTH WW has developing commercial properties. Speed on CTH K and the intersection’s skew and misalignment resulted in serious accidents.

How the “fix” benefits your community? Engineering plans to address the safety issues in the corridor recommended the county reconstruct the intersection with a roundabout for the benefit of the growing business park, Maine Elementary School, NTC Agricultural Center of Excellence, Maine Village Hall, fire department, residents, and commuting traffic. Construction of the roundabout was completed in the fall of 2023. As CTH K is a heavy commuting route between Merrill and Wausau, the roundabout serves as a traffic calming measure, forcing drivers to reduce their speeds as they come into the metro area.

What made addressing the issue possible? Marathon County received over $2 million in the first round of Local Road Improvement Program-Supplemental funding, with about $1 million for the CTH K and WW roundabout. Without this funding, the county may have ended up with a pavement replacement project, which would not have addressed the intersection safety issues.

What’s next?  Marathon County will continue to use its annual budgeted funds for pavement replacement projects but will rely on opportunities for grant funds for larger capital projects that will have the most impact on the community.