Concept art for a new causeway into Carson Park

The long-awaited replacement of the causeway into Carson Park – as well as upgrades to the park’s baseball bleachers and improvements to Fairfax Pool and Hobbs Municipal Ice Center – were tentatively OK’d by the Eau Claire City Council Tuesday. The council voted unanimously to approve a five-year capital improvement plan for the city, which includes $35 million in infrastructure projects slated for 2017. The spending won’t be officially approved until November when the City Council votes on the 2017 city budget.

Among the highlights of the capital improvement plan are $2.25 million to replace the 1930s-era bridge and causeway that carry Lake Street into Carson Park as well as $2.45 million to replace the 40-year-old bleachers that are shared by the park’s baseball and football fields. In addition, the O’Brien Rink at Hobbs Municipal Ice Center will undergo $1 million in upgrades – including new locker rooms, storage, office space, and a press box redesign – in part to allow the rink to be home for a North American Hockey League franchise. At Fairfax Municipal Pool, $75,000 has been earmarked to rebuild outdoor locker rooms and create a dedicated first aid room, and $60,000 will be set aside to install a less-slippery floor in the bathhouse and concession area. The capital improvement plan also includes a host of lower-profile (but important) projects, including maintaining sewer and water lines and replacing city equipment such as buses and fire trucks.

Overall, the capital improvement plan outlines $181 million in projects between 2017 and 2021. However, only the projects for 2017 will be funded by next year’s city budget; projects slated for the following four years are included in the document for long-term planning purposes. In the latter category: The 2018 budget includes $6.25 million for a new bus transit center to replace the “temporary” building put up in 1984.