Agencies working to make COTR safe
Preparations have been underway at the Country on the River grounds near the construction on Highway 18 in the town of Bridgeport. The Wisconsin DOT, event organizers and the Crawford County Sheriff’s and Highway departments have been working to ensure a safe event for all motorists and event patrons.
Sheriff’s department, DOT, COTR organizers working to make event as safe as possible
By Ted Pennekamp
With the Country on the River music event beginning Thursday and running through the weekend, it is anticipated that there will be heavy traffic on Highway 18 in the construction zone of the Highway 18-60 Project that is underway in the town of Bridgeport.
Construction Project Leader Jay P. Adams said that Country on the River (COTR) has been a consideration since the design stage of the Highway 18-60 Project. Adams noted that the Wisconsin Department of Transportation has been working with COTR organizers, along with the Crawford County Highway Department and Sheriff’s Department well in advance of the event.
Adams said that Ward Road and Bouska Road will be open for the event and message boards and revised pavement markings will be in place to aid motorists going to and coming from the festival.
Crawford County Sheriff Dale McCullick said the Sheriff’s Department, the DOT, the Highway Department and the COTR organizers have been working to ensure that the event is as safe as possible.
“Our hope is that many of the campers come in early on Wednesday especially the local campers, to alleviate some of the congestion Thursday,” said Sheriff McCullick. “We have been in meetings with the DOT and they have been great to work with. The engineer in charge, Jay Adams, has been so cooperative and helpful we couldn’t have asked for a better contact person.
“What people need to expect is delays, and if they are not going to the event, their best bet is to find an alternative route. Our hope is that southbound vehicles that are not going to the event are able to get over to the right and pass the vehicles going into the event. But, that is dependent upon many different issues such as rain or a large semi or camper blocking the lane.
“People coming from the south and headed north might not be able to go around vehicles going into the event grounds and may be forced to wait.
“The event organizers have also made some changes that we hope will speed up the registration process and keep campers moving through at a good pace. Also, we obtained a grant from the state of Wisconsin for Safe Ride buses. I encourage anyone who is going to the event but not camping to catch a ride on one of the buses. They should be able to get in and out fairly quickly as we have an alternative route for the buses to get into the event grounds.
“Everyone going to COTR this year has to understand there is nothing we can do to make it a perfect transition into the event grounds but be patient we will get you in as quickly as possible.”
