(Columbus) The Columbus Common Council discussed a grant the city received from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation at a recent meeting. The design phase for the project, happening on Tower Drive, is scheduled for 2025 with construction to begin in 2026.
A grant requirement was to go through a quality-based selection process for a design engineer and Sheboygan based Fehr Graham was ultimately selected. The total contact is just over $156-thousand-dollars with the city on the hook for roughly $86-thousand-dollars.
The council wanted to know if the crossing lights were part of the contract.
“I’m not going to say yes or no,” says City Administrator Matt Amundson. “As they go through the design, that [will] be discussions that we have. We’re not to that point.”
City Engineer Jason Lietha says that because it is a state project, the city will have to determine if there is a need for them.
“If there is a determination that they’re needed, that may qualify for the funding,” Lietha says. “If not, it could be [something] the city could add but maybe 100% your cost.”
Lietha says as soon as the consultant gets selected, a scoping meeting could be held between city staff and himself to decide what issues the consultant needs to address. The matter was moved to the regular council meeting where it was unanimously approved.
