After two years of construction, McGregor’s Main Street fully reopens

McGregor’s Main Street fully reopened to traffic on Friday afternoon, Oct. 11, marking completion of a major two-year construction project. (Photos by Audrey Posten)

“It’s a bit surreal,” admitted deputy city clerk and economic development lead Brandi Crozier, as the “road closed” barriers were removed. “In my time at the city, this project has always been in the works, so to see it coming to and end seems a little strange.
By Audrey Posten | Times-Register
Minus some final punch list items, McGregor’s two-year Main Street reconstruction project is complete. Main Street fully reopened to traffic on Friday afternoon, Oct. 11, after being closed for phase two work since April.
“It’s a bit surreal,” admitted deputy city clerk and economic development lead Brandi Crozier, as the “road closed” barriers were removed. “In my time at the city, this project has always been in the works, so to see it coming to an end seems a little strange.”
The project had been in the works since 2019, to address excessive inflow and infiltration to McGregor’s over-100-year-old sanitary sewer system. Phase one—through the city’s downtown—was completed in 2023, and included construction of a new Front Street lift station and corresponding force main, as well as water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer utility upgrades and a full reconstruction of Main Street.
The second phase included the same utility upgrades and Main Street reconstruction, but stretched from Third to Seventh streets and onto Buell Avenue.
Each phase required detours into and through town, limited or prohibited parking in some areas and affected accessibility to businesses and homes.
“It certainly wasn’t easy,” Crozier said. “Having the road closed last year drastically impacted our businesses, which was unfortunate, but it had to be done. This year, the area of town that was impacted was a lot of residents who were elderly. On top of inconvenience, there were some accessibility concerns.”
She, mayor Lyle Troester and McGregor-Marquette Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Mary Anderson credited Davy Engineering and contractor Portzen Construction for working with the community.
“They were very accommodating—or as accommodating as they could be—to maintain as much accessibility as possible for both our businesses and our residents,” Crozier said.
“It’s a compliment to our town, a compliment to our engineers, a compliment to Portzen Construction. Everyone worked together well and has been patient,” added Troester.
Anderson praised the city’s efforts in planning for construction, troubleshooting problems and regularly communicating with business owners and residents.
“The community notification system has been very helpful,” she said.
Anderson also thanked those who continued to support McGregor despite travel challenges.
“We made the best of a rough situation. I think everyone did,” she said. “Now, the businesses are super excited and ready for there to be no hindrances to get to them. There is a clear path to downtown.”
According to Crozier, construction sets McGregor up well moving forward. If area communities haven’t gone through a similar project, they likely will in the near future.
“I feel like we’re going to be ahead of that curve and it will allow us to be ready for future growth opportunities in McGregor,” she said.
Troester called the work “great for the town.”
“The road is one thing, but people don’t understand it’s also everything underneath it. We’ve re-done everything. It’s all nice, new infrastructure,” he said.
While this signals a fresh start for McGregor, it bookends Troester’s tenure as mayor. Troester was first appointed to the position in 2018 and continued to serve to see the Main Street project through. With work nearing completion, he announced his resignation last month.
A new mayor will be appointed at the Wednesday, Oct. 16 council meeting.
“I’m glad I could help. Now, I’ll be handing the baton off,” he said.
Troester is proud to end on this historic project.
“The first [system] lasted 100 years. Hopefully this will last the next 100 years,” he reflected.