Wilson Street West & Broom Street South

Project Overview

The City plans to reconstruct and replace utilities on portions of W. Wilson St. and S. Broom St. in 2023.

A test of a possible new lane configuration on Broom was completed in the summer of 2019, which involved having one northbound thru lane on Broom at Wilson St. and one right-turn only lane for vehicles to turn right on to eastbound Wilson St. This test was successful and was used as part of the corridor study recommendations for Wilson St. These recommendations include a two-way cycle track on the south side of Wilson St., along with a 10 ft. wide sidewalk on Broom between John Nolen and Wilson, and a separate two-way cycle track on Broom between Doty and Main.

The scope of this project on the 300 block of W. Wilson St. & on S. Broom St. includes replacement of the street infrastructure (curb, pavement, sidewalk, and driveway aprons) along with replacement of the sanitary sewer and laterals and replace of the water main. Storm sewer will be replaced as needed to properly drain the new street configuration. The project also includes replacement of the street lighting and installation of new pedestrian scale lighting. The traffic signals at the Wilson/Broom intersection and at Broom/Doty will also be replaced with the project, and the new signal at Wilson/Broom will include separate phases for eastbound and westbound Wilson St., which will help eliminate conflicts with eastbound thru traffic and westbound left turns on to Broom St. (heading towards JND).

With the project delay, additional funding has been provided to expand the scope of the project. Funding is being provided through the TIF district to underground the overhead utilities within the limits of the reconstruction project on W. Wilson and S. Broom St. Additionally, S. Henry St. will be resurfaced between W. Doty St. and W. Wilson St. Work will also be included to complete some of the other recommendations of the S. Basset St. and W. Wilson St. corridor plans, which includes extending the parking protected bike lane along S. Bassett St. from W. Main St. to W. Wilson St., and a new floating bus stop is proposed on S. Bassett St. just south of W. Doty St. Within these limits on S. Bassett St. (south of W. Main St.), the lane configuration will also be changed to a single travel lane with parking allowed on both sides of the street, as was recommended in the S. Bassett corridor study.

Based on the recommendations of the watershed study, a raised bike & pedestrian crossing is now proposed for along W. Wilson St. across the south side of the Hamilton & Henry intersection. To better connect this improvement, as part of the project it is also proposed that the two-way cycle track be extended up W. Wilson St. to the intersection with S. Carroll St.

Wilson/Broom Proposed Plans

Project Limits

Reconstruction Project Limits

W. Wilson St. between S. Broom St. & S. Henry St.

S. Broom St. between John Nolen Dr. & W. Doty St.

Resurfacing Limits

S. Henry St. between W. Doty St. & W. Wilson St.

Expanded Bike Facilities

S. Broom St. between W. Doty St. & W. Main St.

S. Bassett St. between W. Main St. & W. Wilson St.

W. Wilson St. between S. Hamilton St. & S. Carroll St.

Floating Bus Stops (boarding islands)

S. Broom St. north of W. Doty St.

S. Bassett St. south of W. Doty St.

Project Schedule

Construction on this project is now planned for the spring of 2023.

Public Involvement 

There are a number of points of contact during this project where the public is encouraged to give feedback as part of public information meetings and public hearings. Dates and times are indicated below.  This project is also being coordinated with the ongoing corridor study along Wilson St.  The anticipated dates of those meetings are also included below.  Please refer back to this website for any updates on the meeting schedule.

Public Information Meeting 

• Jan. 24, 2023 Public Information Meeting Recording
• Jan. 24, 2023 Public Information Meeting PowerPoint Presentation
• Aug. 25, 2020 Public Information Meeting PowerPoint Presentation
• May 20, 2019 Public Information Meeting PowerPoint Presentation

City Meetings 

2023 Final Project Approvals:
Transportation Commission: Dec. 14, 2022

Board of Public Works: Feb. 8, 2023
Common Council: Feb. 28, 2023

Past Meetings and Approvals
 Corridor Study: Common Council Sept. 1, 2020, approved

Approval of Street Geometrics:
Transportation Commission: Aug. 26, 2020, discussed
Transportation Commission: Sept. 16, 2020, approved
Board of Public Works: Sept. 16, 2020, approved
Common Council: Oct. 16, 2020

Final Project Approval and Public Hearings on Assessments:
Board of Public Works: Oct. 21, 2020
Common Council: Nov. 17, 2020

Summary of past City Meetings on this project:
A public hearing was held before the Board of Public Works (BPW) on May 22, 2019. The BPW referred this project to the Transportation Commission, and the project will then be at the BPW again before the public hearing at the Common Council. Dates, times and locations for each of these meetings are noted below.June 11, the Common Council referred the interim recommendations of the Wilson St. corridor study to the Transportation Policy & Planning Board (TPPB), and, June 12, the Transportation Commission referred the plan for the W. Wilson St. and Broom St. reconstruction project, to the July 10 meeting. Below is an updated schedule for the public meetings on items related to this project. Please note that each of these meeting dates and times are subject to change, so please refer back to the website prior to each of these meetings to confirm the date/time/location.

• Transportation Policy & Planning Board: At the TPPB July 1, 2019, the Board did not approve the report of the interim recommendations for W. Wilson St., and instead recommended that the entire corridor study on Wilson St. be completed before making a recommendation on the street configuration for any blocks of Wilson St.
• Transportation Commission: 5 p.m., July 10, 2019, Room 215, Madison Municipal Building, 215 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd.  Based on the recommendations from the TPPB, it is expected that the Transportation Commission will refer a decision on this project to a later date. 
• Board of Public Works: 4:30 p.m., July 17, 2019, at 1600 Emil Street; discussion of the overall plans & specifications for the Wilson St. & Broom St. reconstruction project.
• Common Council: 6:30 p.m., August 6, 2019 in Room 201, City-County Building, 210 MLK Jr. Blvd.; discussion of the overall project along with the public hearing regarding the assessments.  The project was ultimately delayed until the corridor study can be completed.

The Transportation Department is conducting a Wilson Street Corridor Study to help guide the scope of this construction project.

Mailings

Board of Public Works Mailing for S. Henry Street Assessment District - 2023:  Letter;  Fact and Detail Sheet;  Assessment Schedule (Jan. 27, 2023)
Board of Public Works Mailing for W. Wilson Street and S. Broom Street Assessment District - 2021:  Letter;  Fact and Detail Sheet;  Assessment Schedule (Jan. 27, 2023)
Adopted Resolution Notice for W. Wilson Street and S. Broom Street Assessment District - 2021: Cover Letter, Finance Letter, Resolution, Assessments (April 6, 2023)
Adopted Resolution Notice for S. Henry Street Assessment District - 2023: Cover Letter, Finance Letter, Resolution, Assessments (April 7, 2023)
Start work letter for residents; Fact and Detail Sheet (May 22, 2023)