This February, construction began on Oakland Avenue, stretching from Capitol Dr. to Glendale Ave. The project aims to both repave the road, add more pedestrian and biker- friendly features, and replace water mains, laterals, and any lead pipes. The width of the road will remain the same, and the project is estimated to conclude in December 2026. 

“We reconstruct roads on a rotating basis based on their condition,” said Ann McKaig, Village President and member of the Shorewood Village Plan Commission. “We knew that Oakland would need to be redone. I’ve been on the board for 10 years, and we’ve been talking about it since 2017.” 

Leann Butschlick, Director of Public Works for the Shorewood Village, says the construction has been pushed off for several years, both due to community interest and other major projects. 

“This was initially identified to be completed in 2022,” Butschlick said. “After COVID the board reassessed that schedule knowing that COVID had a huge impact on those businesses, particularly the restaurants on Oakland Ave. Construction is very impactful, so they didn’t want to do this quickly on the heels of COVID. It was then rescheduled for 2025. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation had originally scheduled Lake Dr. for 2026, but then they switched it, so we pushed Oakland to 2026. It’s been many years in the making.”

Despite the December 2026 completion date, the Department of Public Works says the road could be substantially more functional before then.

“When you have a major construction project, typically you have two completion dates,” Butschlick said. “First you have a substantial completion date and what that essentially means is that the project has to be usable for its intended purpose, so on a street project that means the street has to be fully reopened for traffic. That date is early November [2026]. Then, there’s the final completion date which means everything has to be done, and I believe that’s the first Friday in December.”

In addition to the standard resurfacing of the Oakland Ave, the Village Board has made it a priority to increase the pedestrian and biker-friendly aspects of the street. 

“The role of the board in construction projects is [that] we will sometimes make decisions regarding different aspects of the project,” McKaig said. “For example, with Oakland, we took the opportunity to look at what different pedestrian and cyclist friendly improvements we can make because the only time to improve things like that is really when you’re redoing the road. It makes sense to think about who uses the road. We did look at the original plan, and we looked at options for changes to intersections and sidewalks, and made some recommendations on that level that impacted the overall design.”

In addition to Oakland’s improvement, Butschlick says that the additions for pedestrians and bikers will likely continue for future Shorewood construction projects, not just Oakland. 

“The Village has a complete-streets policy,” said Butschlick. “As a part of that policy, or even frankly before it was even adopted, the board reviews any opportunity for improving the corridor for all [road] users, not just vehicles when any sort of road related project comes up. So it will definitely continue in the future.”

Because of the length of the project and the large stretch of road the construction covers, many community members have expressed concerns about that project. How many lanes the street has, which adjacent streets have been blocked off, and where drivers can and can’t be, aren’t very clear while driving according to many who have used the road since construction started. However, the Village says they have provided several sources of information on how to navigate the road while construction continues. 

“I think what’s really different about this project, [and what] I’m really proud of, is that there is a huge communications plan with it,” McKaig said. “We hired a company to solely work on communications with all stakeholders, and the purpose of that is to minimize the inconvenience. Nobody likes road construction, but everybody likes new roads. Obviously, this stretch of Oakland impacts our entire business district, the customers, not to mention the residents in that area, changing traffic patterns, and things like that.”

However, this communication is not just limited to Village efforts, as they have been collaborating with entities outside of Village management to properly communicate construction changes with residents. 

“The Village manager has been meeting with not only the Director of Public Works, but the contractor, the communications firm, the business district director, and the planning director. It’s been an all hands on deck process,” McKaig said. 

One large focus of communication is businesses directly on Oakland, as the disruption construction causes could possibly decrease productivity and revenue of those businesses. According to Butshlick, this is one reason why the project was pushed off after COVID, but some still remain concerned about the business impact — especially on smaller businesses on the street. Despite this, the Village says businesses should have all the resources they need to lessen the impact. 

“One day your street is normal and the next day it’s down to one lane, but I know what’s being provided is really up to date information to the property owners and the business owners on Oakland, and then they’re getting instructed to make sure that their store managers have all the same information,” McKaig said.

In addition to providing information on the construction, the board has also made an effort to help organize parking strategies for customers and businesses — as street parking and general efficiency in getting to parking locations has drastically decreased. 

“They have a budget to make signs and businesses have given instructions for their customers about parking accommodations, or you know when parking might change,” McKaig said. “The Business District and the village have worked together to identify additional parking spaces for people that won’t have access to their parking.”

Evie Davauer, SHS junior, lives in Oakland and near her family business Draft & Vessel. Not only has the construction disrupted her daily routine in getting to school, but she also worries about the impact the construction could have on her family’s business. 

“I understand why they’re doing it, but I’m not happy about it.” Davauer said. “I think that this is going to be pretty detrimental to all of the businesses on Oakland including my Dad’s. People aren’t gonna be able to have access to that road, so it’s going to make business go down.”

Davauer and many other community members also express concerns that many traditional events that happen throughout the year on the street either will be relocated or won’t happen at all, disrupting annual traditions for many residents and families.

“[The construction is] also bad for all the Shorewood events,” Davauer said. “I feel like that all happens on Oakland, like the Fourth of July parade, Shorewood Feast, and the Shorewood Bike Race, which may not be happening this year. There’s not a lot to look forward to unless they put the Fourth of July parade somewhere else.” 

In addition to the construction affecting businesses, Davaur says she’s concerned about the inefficiency of the current state of the road, especially because the construction is projected to last almost an entire year. 

“It’s really difficult to get to school,” Davauer said. “I drive to school every day, and I know I could just take a different route, but the easiest route for me was Oakland. Taking it now is just kind of second nature, and it’s now getting really hard [to drive on].”

She also states that the compact space of the current road setup has created navigational challenges for drivers, especially those with larger vehicles.

“Everything is a bit confusing,” Davauer said. “I’ve seen multiple trucks in the [safety cones] that show where the lanes are, and they’ve knocked over all the [cones] because they don’t fit.”

Although using side streets is a lengthier alternative, Oakland’s role as one of Shorewood’s main roads means the construction affects much of the community, not just a few drivers. 

“[Oakland is] a big road that gives you access to other things,” Davauer said. “[There’s the option to] go on the side streets  but it makes it so much more difficult to get places.”

Similar to Oakland’s current construction, Lake Dr. underwent renovations in the past year. Following this project, residents have raised concerns based on their previous experiences with that construction project.

“I know Lake Drive took a really long time and I think that that would be really bad if that happened to Oakland too,” Davauer said. “My uncle lives there and he had a lot of problems trying to get places. I just hope that they try to do it in the most fast and efficient way for us and the workers,” Davauer said.