I-39/Business 51 Rothschild Interchange

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation, North Central Region, retained Ayres to develop the conceptual design for the reconstruction of the parclo interchange between I-39 and US Business 51 south of Wausau.

Project considerations included area development and projected traffic volumes; railroad, utility, and agency coordination; roadway design; structure design and evaluation; lighting plans; traffic maintenance; and public involvement. A work zone analysis was conducted for various staging scenarios to determine impacts to traffic. Ayres developed two Type 3 Transportation Management Plans (TMPs) for arterial and freeway.

Structure work included conceptual design and analysis of two dual structure crossings. The welded plate girder structures over the Wisconsin River involved analysis of fatigue details, retrofit of structural steel, and widening. The rolled steel beam bridges crossing Business 51 and a railroad were reconstructed to accommodate six lanes plus interchange improvements.

WisDOT subsequently retained Ayres to prepare three final plan sets and specifications for reconstructing 1.8 miles of I-39 northbound and 2 miles of I-39 southbound, including replacement of or modifications to the structures.

• Mark Petersen, Supervisor - Transportation Services
• Bruce Ommen, President
• Dan Sydow, Manager - Structural Engineering
• Dave Pantzlaff, Director of Midwest Transportation Services
• Brian Lambert, Project Manager
• Arlen Beaudette, Project Manager/Structural Engineer
• Eric Sorensen, Vice President - Transportation Services
• Andy Dana, Project Manager/Transportation Engineer

• Freeway
• Interchange
• Public Involvement
• Right-of-Way Plats
• Roadway Bridges & Culverts