Why South Main Street Ran Into November, and What the Last Few Weeks Look Like

"We understand the extended construction period is inconvenient and appreciate your patience as we complete this important work. Our goal is to deliver a safer roadway and updated infrastructure that will serve the community well for many years."

Zach Navin, Fort Atkinson's Director of Public Works, said that in June. The city posted his comment on its South Main Street project update page once it was clear the job would not finish when first planned. South Main has been closed to through traffic from Rockwell Avenue to Hackbarth Road since Tuesday, March 24, 2026. The project overview first set completion for mid-October. As of late October, asphalt is tentatively set for the week of November 9.

The extra weeks came from a choice the city made in the spring. Because of that choice, the new road and path should not need to be torn up again in the next few years.

The gas main that moved the finish line

In May, the city said We Energies had proactively coordinated with it to replace the distribution and high-pressure gas mains under South Main while the street was already open. That work had been planned for three to five years out. Doing it then would have meant cutting into a freshly rebuilt road. The city's June 9 update describes portions of the existing gas infrastructure as "nearing the end of their useful life."

That added a full summer of utility work to the schedule. The timeline posted in June read like this:

• May 15 to June 19: distribution gas main
• June 22 to September 11: high-pressure gas main
• September 14 to November 6: storm sewer, road paving and path installation
• November 9 to November 25: restoration

The gas work mostly held to that plan. Storm sewer was harder. In mid-September the city said storm sewer installation had been "more challenging than anticipated due to continued utility conflicts." By September 22, a second crew had come in to start curb removals and grading, and the city said the project was on track to finish by mid-November. The city's October 20 update says underground utility work is complete.

What's left, in order

What remains is surface work, and the order matters most to the homes along the street. This is the sequence the city laid out in its October 20 update:

1. Grading. Crews are shaping the road and the path bed. Grading began Monday, October 12.
2. Curb, gutter and curb ramps. Concrete crews were running a few days behind and planned to pour on Friday, October 23, or Monday, October 26.
3. Asphalt. Tentatively the week of November 9, covering both the road and the path.
4. Driveway aprons. After paving, crews come back to remove old aprons and pour new concrete ones where needed.
5. Restoration. The June schedule set aside November 9 through November 25 for this final stage.

The city has not posted a date for reopening South Main to through traffic. Until it does, the signed detour stays on County Highway K and US Highway 12. The closure also covers cutting straight across South Main from Hilltop Trail or Highland Avenue, which the city pointed out back in April.

The ten days that matter most on the block

For people who live on the street, the curb pour matters more than the paving. The city's October 6 update said that once the concrete curb goes in, vehicles cannot drive across it to reach driveways for 10 days, or until the barricades come down. The October 20 update says affected properties will need to park on the street during that time.

Count forward from an October 23 or 26 pour and the driveway restriction runs into the first days of November. That is just before the asphalt window opens. The contractor is leaving door hangers at every affected property with current timelines. Those notices are the schedule to trust for any one driveway, because the date for each section depends on when the concrete reaches it.

Leaf season overlaps all of this. The city's guidance for the work zone is to rake leaves to the front of the yard as usual. City crews will pick up what the leaf vacuum can reach and come back with other equipment for the rest. The DPW operations team takes questions at 920-397-9909. Project questions go to Navin at 920-397-9901.

What the extra width becomes

Before construction, South Main was more than 40 feet wide, which the city calls "more than enough to accommodate parking and travel lanes." The project includes a road diet that turns some of that width into an off-street path.

So for most of the stretch between Rockwell and Hackbarth there has been nowhere to walk except the road shoulder. The city's 2016 Safe Routes to School study flagged this corridor as an unsafe segment, and parents in that study raised concerns about how children could safely get to school.

Several years of steps led here. The study made the city eligible for grant money. In March 2022 the city applied to the Transportation Alternatives Program and was awarded $961,000, which covers 80 percent of the $1.2 million path project. The City Council approved the state municipal agreement in February 2023 and hired MSA for design in February 2024 at $159,991. In September 2025 the council approved Rock Road Companies' construction bid of $2,723,030.53, according to the city's project page. The construction bid covers the whole job, including the new water main, sanitary sewer replacement and storm sewer repairs. That is why its total is larger than the grant-funded path budget.

Where the path leads once it opens

The city says the path will ultimately connect the south side neighborhood to Purdy Elementary School and the downtown corridor. At the north end it meets Rockwell Avenue. The city's public information meeting slides note that a multiuse path was built along Rockwell in 2018. The new South Main path extends that route south to the city limit.

The city's project description also lists the Glacial River Trail among the destinations, along with schools, a grocery store and places of employment. In practice, a household near Hackbarth Road will be able to walk or bike north to Rockwell and the schools there without using the travel lanes. For years the city's own planning documents have described that trip as unsafe.

The path's asphalt goes down with the road, tentatively the week of November 9.

The same approach, on other streets in 2027

South Main is not the last street where Fort Atkinson is pairing water main replacement with road reconstruction. On October 20, the city held a public information meeting on its proposed 2027 water main and road project. The streets named are Jefferson Street from Hake to Blackhawk, White Street from Jefferson to the end, Clover Lane from North High Street to Heth Street, and Oak Street from Harrison to the dead end, according to the City Manager's Report from October 6. Residents in those areas received letters.

Those projects run through the city budget process. A public hearing on the 2027 operating budget and the 2027 to 2032 capital improvements plan is set for November 5, and adoption could come November 17. Because of the November 3 general election, the first November council meeting moves to Thursday, November 5.

For anyone on Jefferson, White, Clover or Oak, this year's South Main updates are the most useful preview of what's coming. They show the water shutoffs announced 48 hours ahead, the lateral hookups, the pulverized road surface, the 10-day curb restriction and the door hangers. They also show how much a utility company's timing can change a construction season.

If you live on or near South Main and you're thinking about selling next spring, a finished street and a new path change how your home shows. Ashley Nelson can help you time listing photos and showings around the last of the restoration work, and can connect you with local lawn cleanup and handyman help to put the yard back together. Let's Connect.