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ffeytown R.G. HUSTON COMPANY, INC. Ccrage G?^ 608-255-9223 Fac 608-839-5936 December 8, 1999 Mike Roberts Wisconsin Department of Transportation District 1 Construction 2101 Wright Road an Madison, WI 53704 �'r RE: Hwy 12/18—Hwy `N' Interchange Drainage Problems Dear Mr. Roberts, Earlier this spring, we contacted your office about our concern with increased runoff and erosion problems that was occurring in the NW Quadrant of the Hwy 12/18 —Hwy 'N' Interchange due to the new construction of Hwy 12/18. You were gracious enough to meet with us and view the site conditions. The erosion problems were highly visible in this newly constructed interchange area. In the months that followed, WisDOT did take some steps to try to eliminate these problems (i.e. riprap lined ditches and placed riprap ditch checks) but these measures have proven to be inadequate for the non-right-of-way areas. You had also made it clear to us that the \VisDOT would not attempt any remedial action off of the existing right-of-way. Recently, after numerous contacts with your office in attempt to access the drainage calculations for the recently completed Hwy 12/18 - Hwy `N' Interchange, I have decided to formally write to your office and place one final request for this public information. When I contacted you in early November, you told me that you would retrieve this information for me. After numerous phone calls, you finally tell me that the designer, Darryl Berry—HNTB, was not cooperating with you and would not give you the calculations. You suggested that I contact him directly and get this information. After contacting Darryl, he informs me that he has already told you that the agreement between WisDOT and HNTB in July of 1991 was that no drainage study would be done in order to save WisDOT money (i.e. WisDOT did not want to pay to have a drainage study done). In my phone conversation with Darryl, he said that the design of Hwy 12/1S was to be done under these generalized drainage assumptions in lieu of a drainage study: 1. The roadway design did not change any existing drainage patterns. 2. Replace existing pipes with the same size pipes or bigger. How can one assume that existing drainage patterns will not be changed when you are changing a two-lane road into a four-lane highway with median and on/off ramps, etc? This first assumption does not begin to have any merit! I find it very disturbing that a project of this magnitude can be designed and built with out any concern for possible impacts on area drainage. How is it that private individuals and corporations must pay for extensive engineering for storm water management plans for projects of much lesser magnitude and then WisDOT builds a project like this without any drainage study? It seems to me that not having done a drainage study could have some costly legal ramifications in the near future. It has already come to our attention that the NW Quadrant of the H«■,, 12/18 — Hwy `N' Interchange is not the only place where water is a problem(i.e. Nora Road Interchange, Hwy AB Interchange, etc.).