Monday Morning Round Up 11/17/25

Update 11/14/2025

General Project Information

The John Nolen Drive project includes reconstructing John Nolen Drive and six bridges that span the causeway. New curb and gutter with a raised median separating northbound and southbound traffic will narrow traffic lanes to calm high traffic speeds. The Capital City Trail will be moved further from the roadway with the addition of three new bridge structures, increasing pedestrian safety and greenspace along the corridor. The trail will also be widened, increasing the capacity of the trail, with separate paths for bikes and foot traffic.

Project Schedule

Stage1 Start Date: October 13, 2025

Anticipated Stage 1 Completion: November 24, 2025

Current Stage / Traffic Impacts – Stage 1

Work entails constructing temporary crossovers and temporary signals. Temporary storm sewer outfalls will also be constructed beneath the northbound lanes of John Nolen Drive.

• Traffic restricted to one lane each direction
• No left turns from Broom St to John Nolen Dr

Upcoming Stage / Traffic Impacts – Stage 2

Work entails reconstructing southbound John Nolen Drive, reconstructing three bridges on the causeway, and the Basset to Bedford pedestrian path.

• Traffic restricted to one lane each direction on existing northbound lanes
• No left turns from Broom St to John Nolen Dr
• Nighttime full closures anticipated for bridge girder removal

Work Week of 11/17/25

• Asphalt paving is scheduled for the remaining areas where medians have been removed to prepare for Stage 2 traffic.
• Storm sewer work will continue across northbound lanes of John Nolen Dr and the Capital City Trail.
• Barges and cranes will be deployed to begin installation of cofferdams. This work will start at the northernmost bridge on the lake side.
• Traffic control devices, temporary pavement markings and temporary signals will be modified for Stage 2 traffic.

Work Week of 11/24/25

• Traffic moves to Stage 2.
• Cofferdam installation will continue.
• No work scheduled for Thanksgiving or “Black Friday”

Traffic/Pedestrian/Bike Impacts

• A new temporary crosswalk on the north side of Broom St will be established. This will become the only crossing at Broom St and will remain until the project is complete.
• The Capital City Trail will remain open; however, widths restrictions will be in place at isolated locations during standard hours. Trail users will be routed onto temporary pedestrian matting or existing roadway while the contractor installs storm sewer pipes across the path. Cyclists are encouraged to dismount from their bikes through these areas.
• Motorist should expect a new traffic pattern the week of 11/24. All vehicles will use existing northbound lanes between Lakeside St and the Monona Terrace.

Please be alert when traveling along the John Nolen Drive corridor. Please note that some work is dependent on weather and may be subject to change. Thank you in advance for your patience throughout this project.

Events

Beginning November 15, Olin Park will host the annual Fantasy in Lights display. Access will remain available from both E Lakeside St and Olin-Turville Ct.

Welcome to the Holiday Fantasy in Lights – Fantasy In Lights

NECA and IBEW Local 159, along with many sponsors, bring you the 37th Annual Holiday Fantasy in Lights. 6 weeks of lights at Olin Park for all to drive through and enjoy at no charge. Over 60 lighted holiday displays to include tunnels and local scenes and treats. Lights on at Dusk- Candy Canes handled out at the exit 4:30pm to 10:00pm. Lights on every single evening through December 31st.

Contact Information

Mark Sponem, WisDOT – Project Manager

Email:  mark.sponem@dot.wi.gov

Dan Bauknecht, WisDOT – Project Engineer

Email:  daniel.bauknecht@dot.wi.gov

If you would like to be added to the weekly update distribution list, please sign up using the subscribe button on the project website or email your name and email address to  daniel.bauknecht@dot.wi.gov.

Progress Pictures

The Contractor will finish pavement marking this week and the City Traffic Engineering plans to install permanent street signs next week. Once the permanent signs are installed, the construction barrels and barricades will be removed. The traffic signal at the intersection of Atwood Avenue and Hudson Avenue is installed and operational.

Thank you to everyone who attended our Nov. 10, 2025 Public Information Meeting. The meeting materials are now available:

Nov. 10, 2025 Public Information Meeting Recording

Nov. 10, 2025 Public Information Meeting PowerPoint Presentation

Please complete the project questionnaire by 1 p.m., Nov. 17, 2025.
Elmside Sommers Center Reconstruction Questionnaire

Reminder: Join us tonight:

A public information meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Nov. 10, 2025, via Zoom. Registration prior is required.

Nov. 10, 2025 Public Information Meeting Registration

Nov. 10, 2025 Public Information Meeting PowerPoint Presentation

Please complete the project questionnaire by 1 p.m., Nov. 17, 2025.
Elmside Sommers Center Reconstruction Questionnaire

Update your Organization’s Contact and Profile Info

The city values the time and commitment you invest in your neighborhood group! To keep communications flowing smoothly and your organization on track as it continues doing good things, please make organization contact and profile updates using this form. The updated information will be reviewed and entered by our team. If you would like to contact us with any questions, please send an email to neighborhoods@cityofmadison.com and someone will get back to you.

Review the Urban Design Code

The City of Madison’s Planning Division is looking for public feedback as it evaluates the City’s decades-old urban design goals and guidelines.

The primary ordinance that guides the review of design for development projects, called the Urban Design Code, has not been comprehensively updated since it was created 50 years ago. There have been amendments to the Urban Design Code in that time, but the age of the underlying ordinance and the patchwork of updates over the years have led to some uncertainty about what the City wants to see in private building designs.

Through the Urban Design Code Update project, the city hopes to create more clarity, consistency, transparency, and flexibility in the City’s urban design goals

and design review process.

Meet Artists for the State Street Campus Parking Garage

The City of Madison is inviting three finalists to propose designs for public art in the new State Street Campus Garage and adjacent Hawthorne Court. The call for artists received a large amount of interest, resulting in 66 eligible submissions from around the world and locally. The finalists were chosen by the Madison Arts Commission following the recommendation of the State Street Campus Garage/Hawthorne Court Ad Hoc Public Art Committee. The Committee was looking for applicants with experience creating large-scale vibrant public art projects that use, incorporate, or play with light. The Committee selected the top three scoring applicants to proceed as finalists for the design phase.

On Friday, November 14, 2025, the Chazen Museum of Art will host a community meet and greet with the finalists. Join us to hear brief presentations about their artistic practice and learn more about the project site and design process.

• Friday, November 14, 2025, 5:30pm – 6:45pm, Chazen Museum of Art, 750 University Ave., Madison, WI 53706

Take the Community Garden Survey

The City of Madison is seeking to gauge interest in utilizing city-owned land for market and community garden spaces. This week, the Economic Development Division launched a Request for Expressions of Interest via a short survey(link is external) intended for entrepreneurs, market farmers, and organizations involved in community or market gardening and interested in expanding food access and assisting Madison families with food affordability needs. The City is trying to understand if growers and community food systems organizations have interest in and capacity for expanding market gardens and community gardens in Madison.

City Adopted 2026 Budget

The Madison Common Council has overwhelmingly approved a capital and operating budget for 2026. The adopted City Budget has the lowest tax rate in at least 40 years. Property owners will see an increase in the City’s portion of property tax bills of around $2.50 a month or just $30 annually on an average valued home. This is below the rate of inflation and nearly $5 million below the maximum allowed under the state’s levy limit.

The 2026 Operating Budget includes new funding for several key priorities, including:

• An unprecedented investment in homeless services with $1.7 million in support for the new homeless shelter.
• Staffing for the new Imagination Center, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2026. This $1.2 million investment will be phased in over two years.
• A 10th ambulance company in the Madison Fire Department. This is needed to maintain our current response times while the City’s population increases by nearly 5,000 new residents each year. The total annual cost will be $1 million starting in 2027.

Review Southwest and Southeast Area Plans

The Southwest Area Plan and Southeast Area Plan draft actions are available on the city’s website for review and comment. Hop onto the project webpages linked above and let us know what you think!

Join Madison Public Library’s 150th Anniversary Events

The final celebration of Madison Public Library’s 150th Anniversary in 2025(link is external) will take the form of an art show highlighting literacy, history, and the wealth of local art connections the library has made over the past 12 years through The Bubbler. 150 Artists x 150 Years brings together a diverse and exciting range of artwork celebrating creativity, literacy, and community.

The library will also host two final gatherings on December 5 from 7-9 p.m. at the Central Library and December 6 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. where the public can view the exhibition, meet the artists, and enjoy interactive hands-on art activities for all ages as the library reflets on a year of celebration and 150 years of impact.

Streets & Urban Forestry Updates

• Leaf Collection: It is still ongoing. Get the set-out dates for your home at our drop-off sites website.
• Will there be an extra leaf pickup this year?: We see the leaves, too. But we don’t know yet if the weather will allow us to do an extra pickup. There are neighborhoods that have set out dates for November 16 and November 30. Their collections need to be completed before an extra pickup can be performed. This means an extra collection would not happen until sometime in December. And no one knows what the weather will be at that time. The same people collecting your leaves are the same people driving the snowplowing equipment. It’s unknown right now if they will be needed for pushing snow, or they can continue with pushing leaves. Once we know what the weather will be, we will know what we can do. If we do an extra leaf pickup, we will announce it before we start.
• Drop-off Sites Hours Changing: The expanded hours for the drop-off sites change in just a few short weeks. Make sure you know the hours and locations of the drop-off sites before you load up your vehicle. Information about the drop-off sites can be found on the drop-off sites website.
• Winter Food Scraps Composting?:  Register to use a Dane County Scraps Stop. It is a free county program. You just have a register beforehand to get the code to unlock the bins at their kiosks. There are three locations in Madison, and other locations near Madison, you can use.

Make sure you stay connected to your local news sources – including emails directly from the city – so you do not miss any announcement for a last chance leaf pickup.

Join Alder Sean O’Brien and City Planning Staff me on Monday, November 17th at 6:00pm for a presentation and discussion on the draft recommendations for the Southeast Area Plan. This public information meeting is another fantastic opportunity to hear directly from city staff regarding the plan recommendations for The City’s Southeast Area, including future land use applications, improvements for dangerous intersections and streets on the high injury network, public transportation infrastructure, and more!

When: Monday, Nov. 17th, 6:00-7:30pm
Where: Fire Station 14 – 3201 Dairy Dr, Madison, WI 53718
RSVP:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/building-the-southeasts-future-a-community-conversation-w-alder-obrien-tickets-1838244461669

If you would like to see the draft recommendations in the plan before coming to the event, we encourage you to check out the story map, as well as the interactive comment portal.

Please use this alternative map-based tool while the website system is being repaired.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

MAP:  https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/documents/water-quality/FlushingSchedule.pdf

East (Area11) – Between the Yahara River and Division St.

East (Area15) – North of E Washington Ave. and west of Stoughton Rd.

West (Area26) – Between High Point Rd. and Gammon Rd. and south of Mineral Point Rd.

———————————————————————-

Questions: Shayne Santi, 261-9128

Flushing Information Line: 261-9178

DETAILS:

Area 11 (East): 4-6 runs per day

Run ID Run Description

8013    Atwood Ave. – Elmside Blvd. – Willard Ave.

8015    Elmside Blvd.

8016    Atwood Ave. (Elmside Blvd. – Division St)

8017    Sommers Ave. ( Elmside Blvd – Dunning St)

8018    Center Ave. (Elmside Blvd. – Dunning St.)

8019    Willard Ave. (Elmside Blvd – Evergreen Ave)

8022    Ohio Ave (Oakridge Ave – Atwood Ave)

8023    Atwood Ave (Ohio Ave – Division St)

8027    Lakeland Ave. – Schiller Ct.

8028    Evergreen Ave. (Oakridge Ave – Atwood Ave)

8029    Schiller Ct. – Lakeland Ave.

8030    Dunning St (Atwood Ave – Yahara Pl)

8031    Schurz – Yahara – Russell – Rutledge (Lakeland to Riverside)

8102    Atwood – Division – Rutledge (Winnebago to Russell)

8102.2 Atwood – Division to Winnebago

8103    Atwood – Winnebago (Division to Eastwood)

8105    Russell St (Winnebago to Eastwood)

8106    Winnebago St (Atwood to Milwaukee)

8113    Atwood Av (First to Winnebago)

8117    Helena St (Division to Clemons)

8118    Jenifer St (Division to Riverside)

8124.2 Riverside Dr (Winnebago to Rutledge)

Area 15 (East): Conventional flushing opening multiple hydrants over a large area.

Area 26 (West): 6-8 runs per day

Run ID Run Description

26147  New Washburn Wy-Morraine View Dr from La Pointe Ter

26148  Welton Dr (New Washburn Wy-S.High Point Rd)

26149  Chequamegon Bay-Elver Ct

26150  Chequamegon Bay (end side)

26151  Elver Ct (end side)

26152  Siskiwit Cir

26153  Cornucopia Ct

26154  W.Village Crest Dr

26155  E. Village Crest Dr

26156  W.Valley Ridge Dr ( Kottke Dr-E.Valley Ridge Dr)

26157  E.Valley Ridge Dr-Kottke Dr

26158  W. Valley Ridge Dr

26159  E.Valley Ridge Dr

26160  Sky Ridge Dr from Kottke Dr

26161  Sky Ridge Dr

26162  786 Sky Ridge Dr

26163  738 Sky Ridge Dr

26164  710 Sky Ridge Dr

26165  West Valhalla Way from New Washburn Wy

26166  East Valhalla Way from South Holt

26167  Wanebo Ln

26168  Ashwabay Ln

26169  Dayflower Drt-Velvet Leaf Dr from north of Welton Dr

26170  Twinleaf La

26171  Meadow Sweet Dr from Dayflower Dr

26172  Jasmine Dr-Sun Flower Dr and Meadow Sweet Dr

26173  Velvet Leaf Dr-Meadow Sweet Dr from Day Flower Dr

26174  Dayflower-Twinflower-High Point (Meadow Sweet to N of Mid Town)

26175  Starr Grass Dr (Dayflower to Dayflower)

26176

26177  Starr Grass Dr (Dayflower to Dewberry)

26178  Wood Reed Dr (Starr Grass to Dewberry)

26179  Twinflower Dr (High Point to Dewberry)