Ozaukee County road construction: Ignored traffic signs raise safety concerns
OZAUKEE COUNTY, Wis. - Road construction signs are more than a suggestion, but some people going down a main street in Ozaukee County think differently.
It's hard to ignore the construction on Columbia - a road connecting Cedarburg to Grafton. Drivers have ignored closed traffic signs on roads, even when people are watching - including the police.
"Summer's usually our busiest," said Mia Roddy, who works at Hefner's Custard.
Busiest for custard and construction and now something else too.
"It’s always interesting to try to guess why people are being pulled over," said Hefner's Custard employee Addie Johnson.
Across from Hefner's Custard in Cedarburg are orange cones and signs that offer a clue as to why there is an increase in red and blue lights.
Starting Monday and likely going through most of the summer, about a two-block stretch of Columbia Road connecting Cedarburg to Grafton is closing through traffic during construction.
However, through traffic has been coming through as well.
"It’s frustrating, because we don’t come into your workplace and just think we own it," Mitch Sellhausen, a Buteyn Peterson Construction operator.
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What some might think of as a shortcut could cut a life short.
"The equipment has blind spots most people aren’t aware of, obviously," said Sellhausen. "People get really close to that, and that stuff will kill you fast."
While it may slow you down, Sellhausen asks drivers to follow these signs.
"Yeah, everybody ignores them," Sellhausen said. "They think they don’t apply to them."
"Just in the little time we’ve been here, there’s cars occasionally coming through behind us that are not listening to the road closed signs that are very well-posted," said Eric Weisenberger, Cedarburg Police Department patrol Sergeant.
Police have been around the area to remind drivers of the risks.
"We’ve been pulling over cars all day," said Weisenberger. "There’s been some residents that have seen a couple close calls with workers out there."
They said a detour not only avoids the construction but the risk that comes with cutting through it.
"Don’t go through there, you don’t know what you’re going to run into, and it could be a worker," said Weisenberger.
FOX6 News tried the detour and determined that it does add some time, around five minutes. Cedarburg Police said not obeying a sign in a construction zone will cost you $213.10.