Remains found in western Wis. construction project - WXOW News 19 La Crosse, WI – News, Weather and Sports |

ONALASKA, Wis. (AP) - Archaeologists are finding ancient remains possibly of Native Americans in the ground beneath the reconstruction of Highway 35 in the La Crosse area.

Scientists from the Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center have found almost two dozen likely skeletal fragments. They've also found hundreds of food and garbage pits, cooking hearths tools and other artifacts of the Oneota people who inhabited the Onalaska area between about 1300 and 1600 AD.

Project manager Joe Gregas says though the discoveries have created some delays, the $4.6 million project is big enough that contractors can work in other areas while archaeologists dig.

He tells the La Crosse Tribune the state Department of Transportation is still aiming for its Nov. 16 completion date, thanks in part to the dry summer.