Vicksburg’s USDA-backed sewer project remains active as residents watch traffic, schedule and rates

The Village of Vicksburg’s sewer overhaul remains an active local infrastructure project, with construction affecting the Sprinkle Road corridor and the village continuing to track the work through its official reports.

The village’s July 20, 2026 council agenda listed an “UPDATE: Sprinkle Road Project” under the village manager’s report. The posted agenda does not include the substance of that update, so it should not be treated as confirmation of a revised cost, schedule, milestone or completed phase.

A four-part sewer upgrade

The project is a Village of Vicksburg wastewater-system improvement serving the Vicksburg area. Its construction footprint extends beyond the village, including work in Brady Township and the City of Portage.

On March 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development announced that it had closed a $6.96 million loan for Vicksburg sewer-system upgrades. The financing is a loan, not a grant, and the loan amount should not be treated as the project’s final total cost without a final village financing or contract record confirming that.

USDA identified four funded components: a new sewer force main, sanitary-sewer lining on Sprinkle Road, an upgrade to the Spruce Street lift station and a biofiltration system at the intersection of Zylman Avenue and Sprinkle Road. USDA said the improvements are intended to provide safer and more reliable sewer infrastructure for more than 3,500 residents and help protect groundwater quality.

Why Sprinkle Road traffic is changing

Project engineer Prein&Newhof lists the force-main route from TU Avenue in Brady Township to Zylman Avenue in Portage. The route explains why traffic effects extend beyond the village’s municipal limits.

The City of Portage’s March 13 notice said construction in the Portage portion would occur along Sprinkle Road between Zylman Avenue and East S Avenue. It anticipated work through July 2026, said Sprinkle Road would remain open to local traffic and businesses, and warned motorists to expect delays and use a signed detour. Nash Avenue was scheduled to close to discourage cut-through traffic on nearby residential streets.

Project updates from Prein&Newhof described additional temporary traffic controls during portions of the work, including one-way local traffic, detours and temporary neighborhood-street closures. The project page says local traffic is to be maintained and that driveway access removed for pipe installation is to be restored at the end of the day where necessary.

Traffic conditions can change by work phase. Residents, employees and customers should follow posted signs and consult the latest project or municipal notices rather than rely on the original March traffic plan.

The published schedule is not settled

The March Portage notice anticipated work through July 2026. Prein&Newhof’s project page later listed an estimated completion date of December 2026. That December date is the later published estimate, but it remains an estimate—not proof that the project is complete or that all July work ended.

The July 20 agenda confirms that the Sprinkle Road project remained on the village’s management-reporting agenda. The posted agenda alone does not say whether the schedule, traffic controls, construction scope or costs changed.

What utility customers should watch

The village’s currently posted utility page lists water at $4.42 per 1,000 gallons and sewer at $11.70 per 1,000 gallons. It also lists meter-based fixed fees and a $10.60 quarterly lead-line replacement fee for metered connections.

An October 2025 village council record said the Sprinkle Road wastewater project had been incorporated into current utility rates. That was the village’s earlier rate-planning position; it does not guarantee that future budgets, rate studies or council action will leave bills unchanged.

For residents and businesses, the useful checkpoints are updated traffic notices, the remaining construction phases, a final completion date, the project’s final cost and any formal village action on utility rates. Until those records are issued, current posted rates should be distinguished from any future project-related change.

Sources

• Village of Vicksburg Council agenda for July 20, 2026
• USDA Rural Development loan announcement
• City of Portage construction notice
• Prein&Newhof Vicksburg construction page