What’s With the Loose Bricks on Capitol Drive?

The roughly seven-month East Capitol Drive reconstruction project may have wrapped up a few bricks short.

Bricks installed in a couple crosswalks as part of the massive state project in Shorewood — that wrapped just a few months ago — have fallen apart and been patched up with asphalt.

Leeann Butschlick, director of Shorewood’s Department of Public Works, said the village is part of the discussion, but mainly the issue is between the state and LaLonde Contractors, who handled the $12 million state project.

“We don’t believe we should have to pay for it,” Butschlick said.

The issue of the patched crosswalks is separate from the matter of holes with broken, crumbled and loose bricks at some of the crosswalks at the intersection at North Oakland Avenue and East Capitol Drive that Today's TMJ4 reported Tuesday was part of crumbling construction work. As the temporary stop light poles were removed to make way for permanent lights stop lights, it left holes with pieces of bricks scattered. These holes were expected, will be fixed and are not the problem, Butschlick said.

Flooding from torrential rainfall in July and delays on construction material for the contractors pushed back patching up the brick-filled holes and; that is .

And according to Dennis Shook, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, work on those holes began Wednesday.

But there remains the problem with the patched crosswalks. At this point, it is unclear whether the construction company would address the issues on some Capitol Drive crosswalks on Wednesday, Shook said.

There also is disagreement about the brick used for the crosswalks. Shook said the contract states brick or asphalt could have been used and the state didn't direct contractors what to use. Butschlick said the contractors said the state insisted on brick. LaLonde Contractors could not be reached for comment on Wednesday — but LaLonde didn't even do the work. They sub-contracted the brickwork to Simon Landscaping, who in turn sub-contracted to Midwest Concrete Contractors. Simon Landscaping could not be reached on Wednesday either.

"It is in the construction contract that they could have placed asphalt on the crosswalks to avoid weather problems," Shook said.

Bottom line is, the contractor said they would finish by November and it is LaLonde's responsibility Butschlick said. Construction actually wrapped up mid-December excluding the completion of the Oak Leaf Trail bridge.

"If the crosswalks aren't perfect when the temperature drops, the roads will fail," Butschlick said.

The Capitol Drive construction project repaved streets stretching from the Milwaukee River to the lakefront, replaced the Oak Leaf Trail Bridge, modernized street signals, addressed drainage issues and added some decorative features to the major street.