May 14, 2026
By Tim Hundt
WESTBY, Wis. — KL Engineering, in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) Southwest Region, has been awarded the 2026 Excellence in Highway Design Award for Best Urban Design by a Consultant for its transformative work on the U.S. Highway 14 project in Westby.
The award was announced during the state’s Transportation Improvement Conference on March 10. Judges selected the Westby project over larger-budget nominations, noting its immense impact and the difficulty of balancing a range of users—from pedestrians to heavy freight—on a quintessential small-town main street.
The project reimagined the city’s main corridor, successfully transforming a deteriorated, high-volume highway into a safer, more connected urban environment that enhances downtown character and business vitality. A centerpiece of the award-winning design is the massive new roundabout at the intersection of Highway 14 and Highway 27. City officials and locals specifically requested the roundabout to alleviate peak-hour queuing, delays, and a history of near-misses and crashes at the intersection.
Due to the highway’s industrial traffic, the roundabout was uniquely engineered to accommodate 205-foot wind tower transport vehicles making left turns. While accommodating these heavy haulers, designers simultaneously made the downtown significantly more pedestrian-friendly by adding high-visibility crossings, rectangular rapid-flashing beacons (RRFBs), and bump-outs in key locations.
During the complex construction phase, the KL Engineering team was praised for “threading the needle” to maintain 24-hour access to the Westby Creamery. They were also recognized for implementing leading-edge temporary pedestrian access, which included audible signals to help residents navigate safely around town while the road was being rebuilt.
Westby Mayor Danny Helgerson expressed the community’s gratitude for the project’s success.
“The city of Westby officials and staff worked very close with KL Engineering on the US Hwy 14/Main St project, and were beyond impressed with their attention to detail and professionalism,” Helgerson stated. “Thanks to their superb engineering, Westby ended up with a beautiful Main St. and round-about which all the residents are very impressed with”.
Duh! Back when they did the traffic survey for the Westby/Viroqua bypass/expansion, (like 20 years ago) the survey showed the RT 27 traffic was the most congested in the whole stretch. This should benefit done when they aded the extra lanes (and the bike path) to the Westby/Viroqua leg. That being said, the roundabout is a great improvement.