County A Lake Delton

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The reconstruction of County A, a one mile stretch, is a crucial link in the restoration of Lake Delton, one of the state’s most popular travel destinations and an important part of the state economy.

On June 9, 2008, water from Lake Delton overtopped County A due to historic levels of rainfall. The water created a highly erosive condition resulting in the breaching of County A and complete failure of the impoundment of the lake.

Due to the scope of the disaster, the Sauk County Board approved a jurisdictional transfer of one mile of County A to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT). The transfer enables state and federal agencies to bring expertise and resources to the design and construction of the project.

The reconstruction of County A, along with the restoration of Lake Delton, will mark the recovery of this popular tourist destination from the devastating floods of June 2008 and minimize the possibility of future failures.

The breach of County A created a 700-feet long by 370-feet wide chasm in the roadway and drained 600 million gallons of water from Lake Delton into the Wisconsin River.

Working in concert with WisDOT are the Department of Natural Resources, Department of Military Affairs, Federal Highway Administration, Sauk County and the Village of Lake Delton.

Once completed, ownership and maintenance of County A will return to Sauk County.

Work to construct a cofferdam began July 24, 2008. The cofferdam is necessary to restrict the flow of water into the planned County A work zone.

Bid lettings to reconstruct County A are scheduled for late August 2008 with construction beginning in early September. The new roadway is expected to be open to traffic in December 2008. Lake Delton will be refilled in the spring of 2009.

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Post event photo.

Related information:

DNR - Lake Delton Area 2008 Flooding event records