BROWN COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The plan to connect Interstate 41 to a new bridge in southern Brown County appears to be back on track.
Longtime county officials say the idea of a southern bridge was first brought up in the 1960s. It has faced many hurdles over the years, but those who’ve been working on it say newly announced support from the state is the project’s biggest victory to date.
As the Department of Transportation is designing an expansion of I-41 between De Pere and the Fox Valley, a connection between the highway and the proposed bridge in southern Brown County is part of those plans.
“If you drive through the De Pere area, mornings or afternoons, you’re probably well aware of the congestion,” said Will Dorsey, the DOT’s Northeast Region Director. “This will relieve a lot of that.”
A DOT letter to Brown County late last week says it will design and build the interchange if the county completes its environmental impact study for the project and receives confirmation from the federal government on where the bridge and interchange can be built by October 2020.
Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach tells Fox 11…
“This is a game-changer in terms of not only state prioritization and funding and the future for the interchange, but also allows us to finally communicate with the federal government and get us through that review process.”
The preferred location of the bridge is at Rockland and Red Maple Roads. The interchange from I-41 would likely be at Southbridge Road.
On the east side of the Fox River, the plan is to eventually complete the corridor with a connection to County Highway GV in Bellevue.
The county board agreed to pay for $600,000 of the environmental impact study on Wednesday. De Pere has already agreed to chip in $377,355. Ledgeview plans to vote soon on spending $96,360. Lawrence would chip in $76,285.
“If we know that we have the interchange coming and it’s being built, there is nothing to stop the municipalities to begin the process of building out their sections,” said Streckenbach.
Governor Tony Evers vetoed the interchange project just a few months ago, but at that time, he said it was because he wanted the DOT to decide whether it was necessary.
“Really there was never any doubt from the state’s perspective that this would move forward,” said Dorsey.
The I-41 expansion is slated to start in 2025. It hasn’t been determined yet if construction will start on the De Pere end or the Fox Valley end, which will play a role in when the interchange construction will begin.
There still isn’t a goal for construction on the southern bridge, because the funding still needs to be secured.
Streckenbach says it is difficult to project a cost, considering construction likely won’t start for a few years, but he would estimate it will be somewhere between $25 million and $40 million.
