IDOT listed the project among its 2026 Safe Routes to School selected projects. The award identifies the City of Herrin as the project sponsor and Herrin Junior High as the impacted school.

The selection was recorded May 7, 2026. The funding is designated for pedestrian improvements connected to the junior high, including closing existing sidewalk gaps, adding curb ramps, marking crosswalks and installing new signage.

Planned improvements

Closing sidewalk gaps would create more continuous walking routes for students and families traveling near the school. The project’s curb ramps would add accessible connections along those routes, while marked crosswalks would identify crossing locations more clearly.

New signage is also included in the listed scope. Together, the improvements are intended to establish clearer pedestrian connections around Herrin Junior High and make the route easier to navigate for people walking to or from school.

The grant amount sets the state funding associated with the selected project at $249,995. The award description does not divide that total among sidewalk work, curb ramps, crosswalk markings and signs.

What remains to be determined

The selection is a funding award; it is not confirmation that construction has started. The award document does not identify the exact streets involved, the number of sidewalk feet to be added, a construction start date or a completion deadline.

Those details will determine where residents, students, families and drivers may see future sidewalk, crossing or signage work. They will also provide a clearer timeline for the project’s delivery.

For now, the confirmed project scope is limited to the improvements listed in the award: closing sidewalk gaps, adding curb ramps, marking crosswalks and installing signage serving Herrin Junior High. The state selection gives Herrin funding support for those improvements, while the precise locations and construction schedule remain to be announced.

The project will change roadway configurations, school drop-off circulation and pedestrian crossings near Sweeney Elementary, Shakopee High School and Sun Path Elementary. That means parents, students, school staff and other drivers will encounter planned changes on several streets connecting the three school sites.

What will change near each school

At Sweeney Elementary, the parent pickup and drop-off driveway will move to the Lions Park roadway network. The project also will add a pedestrian refuge island and a pedestrian-activated crosswalk near the school.

Adams Street between Vierling Drive and 10th Avenue will be converted from four lanes to three lanes. The city’s project materials also identify improvements involving Adams Street, Fuller Street and Quail Drive as supported in part by Safe Routes to School grant funding.

Near Shakopee High School, crews will add a pedestrian refuge island at Fuller Street and Caspian Lane. Vierling Drive will be converted from four lanes to three lanes between Fuller Street and the terminus of the Marystown Road corridor improvements.

Near Sun Path Elementary, the project will extend a sidewalk south along Quail Drive to Quail Court. Together, the planned work covers street design, school circulation and pedestrian facilities at three Shakopee schools.

Contract and funding

The council’s action was formalized in Resolution R2026-067. The $481,804 contract was awarded to S.M. Hentges & Sons Inc., making the construction award the latest confirmed step in the project.

Approximately $272,000 in Safe Routes to School Infrastructure Grant funds supports the work. The city’s 2026–2030 Capital Improvement Plan lists the grant funding and identifies the grant-supported improvements involving Adams Street, Fuller Street and Quail Drive.

The project is not described as completed. The approved city materials do not establish a latest construction completion date or provide an August 2026 traffic-closure schedule. Until the city releases additional timing information, residents and commuters should treat the lane, crossing and pickup-route changes as planned project features rather than changes already in effect.

WisDOT announced the contract on March 23, 2026, after Gov. Tony Evers approved the project. The prime contractor is Chippewa Concrete Services Inc. of Chippewa Falls.

Work will extend from Eau Claire to Altoona

The Altoona portion of the project runs along US 12 from Truax Boulevard in Eau Claire to Mayer Road in Altoona. The contract also covers sections of WIS 93 and WIS 312 elsewhere in Eau Claire County, so the full $2.91 million award is not limited to Altoona.

WisDOT said some curb ramps in the project area did not comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. The planned work includes rebuilding those noncompliant ramps and upgrading pedestrian crossings.

For people using wheelchairs, walkers, strollers and other mobility devices, the work is intended to improve access across the US 12 segment. The project concerns specific ramps and crossings; it does not mean that every sidewalk in Altoona will be made ADA-compliant.

Construction timing and traffic information

WisDOT said construction was tentatively scheduled to begin March 30, 2026. Because that was a tentative start date, the announcement did not establish that work would begin on that date or that construction had been completed.

The approved release does not provide a completion date or a current construction status as of Aug. 6, 2026. It also does not include traffic-control details, such as lane closures or specific effects on drivers, pedestrians or nearby businesses.

A separate WisDOT project page identifies the US 12 Altoona project and lists resurfacing the road with new asphalt among the work. That page corroborates the Altoona location but does not provide the curb-ramp contract’s completion status.

What the contract means locally

The state transportation award directs funding toward pedestrian infrastructure on a US 12 segment used by Altoona residents and others traveling through the area. The practical effect during construction could include changes for people walking, rolling or driving through the corridor, although the release does not specify those controls.

For now, the known next step is the scheduled start of the state-administered construction work. WisDOT, rather than the City of Altoona, announced and administered the contract.

The city’s Mayor’s Office of Capital Projects issued a request for qualifications/proposals for the East 55th Street Safe Routes to School Quick Build project. Proposals were due July 29, 2026, at noon.

The solicitation is a consultant procurement step, not a construction award. The available city materials do not identify a selected consultant, a construction start date, a project cost or a final construction schedule.

Corridor limits and planned street changes

The project area runs along East 55th Street from Outhwaite Avenue to North Marginal Road. The city describes the corridor as 2.8 miles long.

One portion is excluded: the 0.3-mile State Route 283 segment between Superior Avenue and St. Clair Avenue is outside the project limits.

Under the proposed design, roadway space would be reallocated for a two-way center turn lane and separated bicycle lanes. The changes are proposed rather than built, and the solicitation does not establish when the new configuration would be installed.

Crossings, transit access and safety goals

The city’s request outlines a set of pedestrian and transit-access improvements along the corridor. They include ladder-style crosswalks, new crosswalks where needed, and either rectangular rapid-flashing beacons or pedestrian hybrid beacons at crossings.

The plan also calls for concrete landing pads at bus stops. Together with the bicycle facilities and crossing treatments, the project is intended to improve access to schools and transit on an arterial route that connects the Outhwaite Avenue and North Marginal Road areas.

City materials link the work to Cleveland’s Vision Zero goals, which focus the project on safety treatments intended to reduce serious crashes. The solicitation does not promise a particular crash-reduction result.

What remains unresolved

The Mayor’s Office of Capital Projects is the city office named in the solicitation, with the Division of Engineering and Construction also identified among the project entities. The city’s announcements page says Cleveland was carrying out resurfacing and infrastructure work during summer 2026, but the available information does not specify closures, detours, transit-service changes or other construction disruptions for East 55th Street.

Because the RFP did not provide funding sources, a construction cost or a final timetable, those details remain to be established after the consultant procurement process. The next known milestone in the available record was the July 29 proposal deadline.