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Construction update 10/07
The following activities are expected to start on Monday, October 7 for the West Interceptor Shorewood Relief Phase 3 project.
- Mobilizing in equipment and materials.
- Purdue Street will close Tuesday, October 8. The street will remain open to one resident. Access to the pool parking lot will be available from Swarthmore.
- Excavation and sanitary sewer installation will begin on the west side of Marshall Court on Friday, October 11.
Construction began 9/30
Construction began on the west side of Marshall Court on Monday, September 30. One of the first activities is removing trees and brush on both sides of the path between Marshall Court and Shorewood Blvd. Once trees and brush are removed, excavation can begin on the west side of Marshall Court. Construction will proceed west towards Shorewood Blvd. and will continue until weather forces a break for the winter.
A section of the east/west Blackhawk pedestrian/bike path through Shorewood Hills will be CLOSED, beginning Monday, September 30. View the detour route
Project overview
Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District’s West Intercepting System is a complex network of sewers that provides service to the near west side of Madison, Middleton, Shorewood Hills and Westport. The original West Interceptor was built in 1916, and there have been several extensions, reliefs and replacements added to the system over the years. The existing interceptor needs to be replaced to increase capacity, which ensures the safe and reliable conveyance of wastewater while protecting public health and the environment.
Phase 1
Phase 1 replaced a pipe installed in 1959 that no longer has sufficient capacity to serve the District's growing service area. The new pipe was laid on the north side of the railroad tracks from Indian Hills Park to Shorewood Boulevard. Sewage flow is from west to east (Indian Hills Park toward Shorewood Boulevard).
Phase 2
Phase 2 is a relief pipe to eventually provide the additional required capacity. It was installed as part of the City of Madison University Avenue project. The District’s work was complete in Spring 2023 and the overall University Avenue project reached completion in Fall 2023. Phase 2 ran from University Station just east of Marshall Court to just west of University Bay Drive. The installed pipe will not be connected to a live sewer at either end until Phase 3.
Phase 3
Phase 3 will connect to both ends of Phase 2 (see overall project map). Construction was originally planned for 2023 and is now scheduled to take place in 2024 and 2025 to avoid interference with the City of Madison University Avenue project.
Construction of the western portion of the overall Phase 3 project from Shorewood Blvd to Marshall Court will take place in Summer 2024. Construction of the West Interceptor Shorewood Relief Phase 3 project in Highland Avenue and in the Campus Drive on and off ramps has been rescheduled to take place in 2025. View a map of Phase 3.
Shorewood Section Narrative
Shorewood Section Map
Highland Section Narrative
Highland Section Map
Construction schedule and impacts
Construction of the Shorewood Section is currently underway and must be complete by June 30, 2025.
Shorewood Section construction will involve disruptions to the University Station parking lot, a temporary closure of Marshall Court (up to 10 days), longer term closure of the bike path and Purdue Street (several months), and temporary closure of Shorewood Boulevard (3 to 4 weeks).
Construction of the Highland Section will begin approximately May 12, 2025 (after UW-Madison graduation) and is scheduled to be complete by Labor Day 2025 (before the UW is back in session).
Construction of the Highland Section will have major traffic impacts to the UW Hospital and Clinics and to the Forest Products Laboratory. There will also be traffic impacts to the VA Hospital. There is no work on University Bay Drive, which will remain fully open. The off ramp from Campus Drive to Highland avenue will be closed during Stage 1 work starting approximately May 12, 2025 and may remain closed until June 27, 2025. During Stage 2 work, which may last up to 28 calendar days, the southbound lanes of Highland Avenue and both ramps to/from Campus Drive will be closed. During Stage 3 work, only the on ramp to Campus Drive from Highland Avenue will be closed. Stage 3 work may last up to 42 calendar days and is scheduled to be complete no later than September 5, 2025.
Project history
Three years after the stock market crash of 1929 and the start of the Great Depression, gangs of workers with hand tools, horses, old time trucks and possibly a steam shovel were at the farm of Samuel Post to install an extension to the West Interceptor (WI), an 18-inch diameter clay sewer pipe. The original West Interceptor, which is still in service, was built in 1916 from Brittingham Park to Farley Avenue. Flow is east and south towards Brittingham Park. At the Post farm, the 1932 extension passed within 15 feet an old oak tree. Through the years many extensions to serve new areas, reliefs to increase capacity, and replacements to either increase capacity or replace compromised pipe (or both) were added to the West Interceptor System. Today this complex network of sewers provides service to the near west side of Madison, Middleton, Shorewood Hills and Westport.
In 1959 utility workers again visited the Post farm. This time to install a 36-inch diameter reinforced concrete pipe called the West Interceptor Relief (WIR). The WIR is approximately 10 feet north of the WI and 25 feet north of the old oak tree. By and by the farm became a park and the Shorewood Hills Pool was built, it’s concrete deck covering both the WI, now sometimes called the Old West Interceptor, and the WIR. The old oak tree is still there and has been providing shade to the pool for 54 years.
Once again the system needs additional capacity to serve the growing service area and population within the District. In 2019 design was begun on another interceptor pipe to relieve the relief and provide estimated required capacity for the next 50 years to 2070. Rather than naming it the West Interceptor Relief Relief we opted for a less confusing name, the West Interceptor Shorewood Relief. The WI Shorewood Relief Phase 1 was constructed in 2021 and 2022. It replaced 5,700 feet of the WIR on the north side of the RR tracks from Indian Hills Park to Shorewood Boulevard with lager pipe (some 30 inch & some 36 inch) for more flow capacity. Phase 2 was constructed in 2022 and 2023 from Marshall Court to just east of University Bay Drive as part of the University Avenue project. Phase 2 is truly a relief pipe, an additional pipe to provide more capacity, and in this area the WIR will remain in service. Currently Phase 2 is nearly 1,500 feet of empty 30-inch diameter pipe, not connected to a live sewer at either end.
Construction of the WI Shorewood Relief Phase 3 has begun between Shorewood Blvd and Marshall Court. Phase 3 will complete the overall WI Shorewood Relief and will consist of two sections. The Shorewood Section, under construction, will connect the downstream end of Phase 1 to the upstream end of Phase 2. The Highland Section will connect the downstream end of Phase 2 to the upstream end of an inverted siphon (also called a depressed sewer), part of the 1959 WIR, that runs under Walnut Street.
Public involvement
Multiple public meetings have been held for the various phases of this project
Phase 1
- Meeting #1, In-Person: October 21, 2019
- Meeting #2, Virtual: October 6, 2020
- Meeting #3, Virtual: March 18, 2021
Postcards with information about the project and virtual meetings were sent to residents in the project area.
Phase 2
Phase 2 public outreach and public meetings were led by the City of Madison. Meeting information and materials are available on the City’s project web page.
Phase 3
At the virtual public information meeting for Phase 3 of the District’s West Interceptor Shorewood Relief project, we presented the near-final design and restoration plans, tentative construction sequence and schedule (subject to change), provided planned detours, and provided resources for the public during construction. The presentation was followed by a Q&A period.
Phase 3 Meeting: Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023
Postcards with information about project meetings will be sent to residents within 300 to 400 feet of the project. In addition to the public meetings the District has been in ongoing coordination discussions with utilities, municipalities, hospitals, the railroad and other agencies and stakeholders.
