MENASHA, WI (WTAQ) – A massive roadway project ongoing since 2014 is set to finally wrap-up before the year is over.
Since it’s inception, the Wisconsin 441 Tri-County project, which includes construction on US HWY 10 and State 441, has cost around $385 million.
Included in the project is around 6 miles between County CB and Oneida Street that are being rebuilt in Winnebago County.
Also, crews will begin work next month to reconstruct five interchanges and one bridge on Little Lake Butte des Morts.
Courtland Watters from Kimberly drives thru the area frequently and has found it a little unnerving.
“You get more anxiety driving and stuff like that and I already have driving anxiety because of other drivers,” she says.
She remains skeptical that construction will ever truly end.
“I think that it will be good but like the same time there will always be work to be done,” she says.
Kurt Peters, with the state DOT, says more action is ahead before things finish in November.
“We’ll have some ramp closures this year at Appleton Road interchange as well as Oneida Road interchange,” he says. “Currently [we] have Midway interchange closed.”
The Appleton Road ramps will be closed for three months and the Racine Road ramp will be closed for one week in the spring.
The Oneida Street entrance ramp will also be closed for three months in the summer, while the Oneida Street exit ramp will be closed for two months between spring and summer.
“We constructed a second bridge across Little Lake Butte des Morts with wider shoulders so the safety’s been improved,” explains Peters. “Previously, there’s been tighter curves through the Midway interchange area, we’ve addressed that so it’ll be safer here.”
Big Door Storage, a business around Highway 441, says they have little to complain about, despite some growing pains.
“The Department of Transportation has done a nice job communicating closures and what their plans are so we can let people know the easiest way to get there,” says Kelly Rousseau with Big Door Storage.
He says the projects have been well thought out and he’s looking forward to the final transformation.
