See The Future Of Superior’s Hammond Avenue

It's a project that most people who travel the roadway have been looking forward to for a long time.  And, when it's done - it'll transform the neighborhoods the avenue travels through with a totally different redesign.

Superior's Hammond Avenue is scheduled for a major reconstruction project the next two summers (2023 and 2024).  The work will be split into two distinct phases - rebuilding the roadway when it's done from Belknap Street to North 28th Street.

Before the work starts, the City of Superior has been soliciting public comment and input in a variety of different ways.  There is a website that details all of the plans.  In addition, they've been holding public meetings to accomplish the comment and question aspect of the project.

The next public meeting for the street project has been scheduled for Wednesday, August 10 at the Superior Public Library.  The general public is invited to stop by anytime between 4:30 PM and 6:30 PM for an open house-style presentation.  There will also be a survey conducted at the session - the second so far tied to the work. The city will be looking for public input on the overall layout of the streetscape design - including medians, parking, pedestrian crossings, sidewalks, and trails.

Hammond Avenue has needed some repair work done for a while.  Although the street surface is generally in drivable condition, its prone to massive frost heaves every winter due to the freeze-thaw cycle.  Transportation officials aim to correct that issue as part of the scheduled work.

However, the frost-heave correction isn't the only goal - and quite frankly, it's probably not even the reason for the work.  WIth a Hammond Avenue reconstruction, the city hopes to accomplish the following objectives (direct from the project website):

• New pavement, curb, and gutter work
• Create a liveable corridor with placemaking and multimodal transportation treatments (automobile, bicycle, and pedestrian) and ADA compliant ramps
• Mitigate storm sewer, sanitary sewer, and water utility conflicts before they become an issue
• Improve drainage and storm sewer

Generally speaking, the plans for Hammond Avenue look a lot like the streetscape that was designed and carried out for north Tower Avenue a few years ago.  Perhaps the most-noticeable aspect of the design is the center median that will include landscaping - like trees, flowers, and shrubs.  Here's a look at the rendering of what that would look like:

As mentioned earlier, the work on Hammond Avenue has been divided into two distinct phases; each one is also being funded just a little differently:

• Phase One - will happen in 2023:  Starts at Belknap Street and ends at North 21st Street.  This phase will include partial funding through the State of Wisconsin Local Road Improvement Program (LRIP)
• Phase Two - will happen in 2024:  Starts at North 21st Street and ends at North 28th Street.  This phase will include partial funding through the State of Wisconsin STP-Urban Program.

The Hammond Avenue Reconstruction Project is being overseen by the City of Superior Public Works Department.