PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
DE PERE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A major road construction project in Northeast Wisconsin is celebrating progress.
“This is a great day in Brown County. A great day in Northeast Wisconsin. And a great day in the state of Wisconsin,” said Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach.
He joined local and state leaders, including the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) Secretary and Gov. Tony Evers, on Friday, to celebrate the progress made on the I-41 and Southbridge Road interchange project near De Pere.
According to Gov. Evers, “This project is more than investing in steel and concrete. We’re investing in jobs and local economic opportunities, improving the flow of business and industry, making it easier to get to work and most importantly improving safety.”
The interchange is part of a bigger project, that started in April of 2024, to reconstruct and expand 23 miles of interstate from four to six lanes between WIS 96 (Wisconsin Avenue) in Appleton and County F (Scheuring Road) in De Pere.
The project will also reconstruct the system interchange at I-41 and WIS 441 on the north side of Appleton, improve nine existing interchanges, and construct a new interchange at I-41 and Southbridge Road.
Interstate construction will begin in 2025 with two lanes open in each direction during daytime hours.
As part of this project, a new building will replace the Wrightstown Safety and Weight Enforcement Facility (SWEF) with a combined Wrightstown Post and SWEF for the Wisconsin State Patrol.
WisDOT started prep work on the interchange earlier this year. Crews working daily on drainage in the area, adding fill to bring the space to grade.
Construction of the actual roadway and interchange will begin next spring.
“You’re going to see if sit for awhile but a lot of what we’re doing is prepping for that next phase of work, to have the interchange completed by 2026,” said WisDOT Project Manger, Kyle Treml.
Decades in the making, the South Bridge Connector includes the interchange, as well as, a new bridge over the Fox River. The project will connect I-43 to 41 through Ledgeview, Lawrence and De Pere.
According to WisDOT Sec. Kristina Boardman, “The South Bridge interchange here in De Pere is an essential piece of the puzzle that together will improve safety and the traffic flow from the Fox Cities all the way to Green Bay.”
The new interchange not only good for motorist, but its ripple effect will benefit the entire region.
“There’s going to be great access now to the Town of Lawrence on the westside and to the City of De Pere on the eastside. As you can see there’s projects occurring, there’s development occurring and it’s definitely going to be a great thing for the communities once it’s done,” added Treml.
The entire South Bridge Connector project is expected to be completed by 2030.
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