Atwood Avenue project has been a pain, but relief is coming

Jun 05, 2023

Metro reporter

Metro reporter

Access to the Olbrich Park area and several popular Madison businesses has been nearly impossible at times this spring because of a major reconstruction of Atwood Avenue.

One business, Michael's Frozen Custard, said its sales are down by half.

Things will improve soon as one part of the project is completed, according to city staff. But since Feb. 20, drivers have had to navigate a winding route to reach those popular spots.

Motorists coming from downtown or the Williamson Street corridor wishing to access Olbrich Park on Lake Monona, Olbrich Botanical Gardens or the Olbrich softball fields are led through a complicated web of detours. Downtown-toward-Monona traffic is being rerouted from Atwood Avenue onto Fair Oaks in front of Glass Nickel Pizza; from Fair Oaks one has to turn on to Milwaukee Street, then on to Walter Street, Johns Street and, finally, on to Dennett Street in order to turn back on to Atwood Avenue moving back toward downtown.

For those seeking to move farther east beyond the inaccessible section of Atwood, they would need to continue down Johns to turn right on Cottage Grove Road, then left onto Monona Drive.

It's as ugly and complicated as it sounds, particularly during rush hour when traffic is at a standstill for minutes at a time.

A flashing red light stops traffic in front of the entrance to Olbrich Park along the lake, where the Olbrich Biergarten is located, but because of traffic barrels and loose gravel one has to look carefully to see that it is possible to turn into the Olbrich parking lot.

The intersection of Walter Street and Atwood Avenue will soon reopen, however, which city staff members expect will alleviate at least some of the congestion.

If you’re heading from the Beltline and Monona toward downtown, you can't turn from Atwood Avenue onto Walter Street and a portion of Olbrich Park that includes basketball hoops and a large parking lot is inaccessible. That, too, is expected to change soon.

Andrew Zwieg, who is leading the project for the city of Madison, said construction crews are almost finished with the Walter Street construction near the Atwood Avenue intersection.

"That should be open again next week," Zwieg said last week. "So the headache of that portion should be over" this week.

The city of Madison is rebuilding over 1 mile of Atwood Avenue to add bicycle and pedestrian facilities, upgrade crossings and improve access to Olbrich Park and other popular destinations.

The reconstruction will greatly improve people's access to Olbrich Gardens, the softball fields and other businesses along Atwood Avenue, he said. The city is rebuilding over a mile of Atwood Avenue, from Fair Oaks Avenue to Cottage Grove Road. The project will include pavement reconstruction, curb and gutter replacement and repairs, Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant curb ramps, new street lighting and pavement markings.

"I’m excited for this to be done. It's a huge project," Zwieg said. "The main goal is to improve access for all users to the facilities along the road including Olbrich Gardens, the park along the lake, the park where the softball fields are and the other businesses like Michael's Frozen Custard and Harley. There will also be added bike and pedestrian facilities, shorter and safer crossings on the street, and better line-of-sight distances for drivers as well as slowing down traffic along Atwood."

The city has not heard a lot of feedback from businesses along the construction site, Zwieg said, but he did point out that Michael's Frozen Custard, at 3826 Atwood Ave., has expressed concerns about blockages of its entrance and exit.

"We have had requests from Michael's to maintain both their driveway entrances especially as the weekend approaches," Zwieg said.

Sergio De La O Hernandez, a co-owner of Michael's, said the project is "affecting us very badly."

"We are down 50% in sales from this time last year," he said. "And they say this is going to take until September. It's summer, it's our business time. What are we going to do?"

De La O Hernandez said that weekends have been OK because there's no one in the construction site working, which makes it easier to get to Michael's. During the weekdays, he said, few customers come into the shop because people have to wait so long to turn into the entrance.

The Michael's entrance flows through its drive-thru and then exits traffic on the other side of the building. When the project first started, according to De La O Hernandez, only the entrance was open, which hurt drive-thru traffic.

"Basically it was hard to get customers to come in," De La O Hernandez said.

He was able to get the city to open both the entrance and exit, which he said is helping. But sales are still cut in half.

Zwieg said the city is working quickly to alleviate the area around Michael's.

"We’re doing a significant amount of work along that side of Atwood for the next couple weeks, but by the end of June most of that by Michael's should be done," Zwieg said.

The Lake Loop bike path is detoured as a result of construction on Atwood Avenue.

The city also has been in regular contact with the staff at Olbrich Botanical Gardens.

"The Garden's communications team puts out content alerting garden visitors on the best routes to get in and out," Zwieg said. "Once Walter Street is opened, it will be a touch easier."

Because the weather has cooperated, the project is on time to be completed this fall, according to Zwieg.

The final phase, which will have construction happening around Oakridge Avenue and Fair Oaks Avenue, has not yet begun. That's slated to begin mid-summer.

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