Second Year Of Construction On New US 53 Interchange In Trego Set To Begin

WASHBURN COUNTY -- The second year of a two-year project to address existing safety and operational issues on US 53 in the Washburn County town of Trego is scheduled to begin Monday, April 11.

Once construction resumes, work will include:

Removing the existing pavement on the northbound US 53 lanes.
Realigning the northbound US 53 lanes and reconstructing them closer to the new southbound lanes.
Building a new bridge over Potato Creek on northbound US 53.

Traffic signals remain in place at the intersection of US 53 and existing US 63, and the speed limit on US 53 is reduced from 65 mph to 55 mph in the work zone.

Once construction resumes:

There will be daytime single-lane closures on both north- and southbound US 53 the week of April 11.
Traffic will be reduced to a single lane in each direction on the new southbound lanes as early as April 18.

The project was planned to address safety and operational issues. Crashes that have occurred along US 53 in the Trego area have resulted in a crash rate that exceeds the state average for similar type facilities.

In addition, seasonal peaks in traffic due to the highly recreational nature of the region have resulted in significant traffic delays at the US 53-US 63 at-grade intersection for westbound US 63 traffic wanting to enter onto US 53.

Construction entails:

Reconstructing US 53 from Mackey Road to existing US 63.
Relocating US 63 to closely follow the existing Wild River State Trail.
Constructing a new grade-separated interchange connecting US 53 with realigned US 63.
Constructing a new west frontage road from Mackey Road to County E.
Constructing turn lanes along US 53 at existing intersections including Mackey, O’Brien and Ross roads.

Mashuda Contractors, Inc., of Princeton, is the prime contractor for the project. Construction in 2021 began in March and continued through November. Construction in 2022 is scheduled for completion this fall; the schedule is dependent on favorable weather conditions and construction progress.