The new, 0.5-mile extension of South 5th Avenue near Lake Michigan creates a southern gateway to new development and Bender Park for the City of Oak Creek. The alternative option, expanding the existing E. Ryan Road access, would have resulted in multiple business and residential property relocations. Instead, our project team extended S. 5th Avenue to support the City’s vision to redevelop the lakefront property with a mix of commercial, urban, residential, and park uses, resulting in a new, vibrant community asset.

The project provided numerous benefits for the City. Prior to the redevelopment, existing access points were all on two-lane rural roadways. The new, wider urban roadway extension of S. 5th Avenue accommodates vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic. The extension also includes a better functioning intersection at WIS 32/100, an improved crossing of the Union Pacific Railroad, commercial development opportunities along the S. 5th Avenue extension, public utility extensions, and stormwater management opportunities.

The overall project design elements involved a complete streets design, storm sewer bore and jacking installation beneath the railroad, improvement of the WIS 32/100 intersection, abandonment of an existing railroad crossing and installation of a new crossing, a large gravity block retaining wall, and two stormwater retention ponds. The team sought input from the public and stakeholders during the alternatives development and analysis stage which contributed to the success of the project.