You know the joke that there are two seasons in Wisconsin: winter and road construction. The latter season has started, and while we’ll grouse about these projects in the coming months, we’ll also be benefiting from them long after the asphalt dries.

1. State Highway 25/U.S. 12 (Menomonie)

Between now and late August, the state Department of Transportation will be upgrading both North and South Broadway Street in the heart of Menomonie. The project includes resurfacing and making crosswalk and utility upgrades on South Broadway (aka Highway 25) as well repaving part of North Broadway (Highway 25/U.S. 12).

2. Interstate 94 (Dunn and Eau Claire counties)

Work started in April on a 7.4-mile segment of interstate between the Red Cedar River and U.S. 12 in Dunn County, and starting in late June the DOT will be replacing about eight miles of I-94 between Elk Mound and Eau Claire. Lane closures will be during overnight hours.

3. U.S. 53 (Eau Claire)

As denizens of a northern climate, we know that non-road construction season can wreak havoc on our roads. That’s the case with a segment of U.S. 53 (what some of us still call the “53 Bypass”) between Tower Drive and the North Crossing, where frost heave has damaged the pavement. Starting Aug. 3, crews will be replacing a 335-foot-long southbound stretch.

4. U.S. 12 (Altoona)

Beginning in late summer, The DOT will be resurfacing U.S. 12 along the southern edge of Altoona, between Otter Creek and Industrial Drive. The project also will involve adding a couple of turn lanes and altering the median island on the bridge over Otter Creek.

5. Water St. Bridge (Eau Claire)

Get ready to say goodbye to the venerable Water Street bridge, which has spanned the Chippewa River since 1947. Starting this fall, the bridge will be demolished and replaced, a process that will take about a year. Don’t complain: The current bridge’s predecessor fell into the river in 1945, and we don’t want that to happen again.