Public Hearing Set For Dangerous Intersection

WAUKESHA COUNTY, WI -- Citing a need to reconfigure one of Waukesha County's most dangerous intersections, County officials are hosting a public hearing next week about the $1.1 million project.

At issue is a stretch of County Highway C, also known as Kettle Moraine Drive, at the Hasslinger Drive intersection in the Village of Chenequa.

A traffic analysis conducted in 2018 stated that a sharp curve along Kettle Moraine Drive has an awkwardly-configured intersection with a residential street, a driveway and a private road.

"Drivers must react suddenly to the changing curve radii of its existing alignment," traffic analysts wrote in their report. "This rural highway intersection has among the highest collision rates along Waukesha’s County Trunk Highways."

The report stated that there have been 21 crashes reported there over the past 13 years, and that all of the crashes involved northbound vehicles running off the right side Kettle Moraine Drive at the midpoint of its curve.

"All but one had occurred with wet/snow pavement and/or dark conditions," analysts wrote. "One crash had a fatality and four others had severe injuries."

According to county figures, the $1.1 million project will receive about $670,500 in federal funding. Construction is budgeted for just under $600,000, with land acquisition accounting for the second-largest cost at $365,000.

The Waukesha County Department of Public Works will host a public information meeting on the Kettle Moraine Drive project on Wednesday, June 26 at the Village of Chenequa Village Hall, W31275 West County Road K.

The public is encouraged to stop by between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Officials say the meeting will be an open-house format with no formal presentation. Representatives from the Waukesha County design team will be available to discuss the project, answer questions and gather input and comments from the public. Exhibits will be on display for viewing.