Rendering of the new South Bridge Connector over the Fox River in Brown County, looking east. (Image courtesy Brown County Planning & Land Services)
DE PERE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — People who live near where a bridge will be built in southern Brown County want their concerns heard.
While the residents say their thoughts aren’t being considered, county officials say they’re welcoming the feedback.
The bridge will cross the Fox River at Southbridge Road on the west side and Rockland Road on the east. The corridor will connect to a new Interstate 41 interchange, making it easier for people in southern and eastern Brown County to get to the Fox Valley.
The project is expected to be done by 2030.
Coming off the bridge, heading east, drivers will be traveling within 100 feet of a row of backyards that includes Jon Lutgen’s.
“None of us are really against the bridge,” said Lutgen. “We understand the congestion downtown… Our concern is this is still a residential area.”
Lutgen recently sent a letter to Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach asking for the proposed speed limit of 40 miles per hour to be dropped to 30, and a row of arborvitae bushes be planted to help provide privacy and block out noise and pollution.
Lutgen says the county hasn’t acknowledged previous concerns, some supported by 25 area property owners.
“We just kind of feel like they’re not really listening. They’re going to do what they want,” Lutgen said of the county.
Irv Peeters and his family have also sent a letter, raising concerns about access to Old Plank Road and a potential pedestrian walkway under the bridge. The bridge corridor goes right along the north end of the Peeters’ family farm, which has been there for 130 years.
“It takes away our sand beach,” said Peeters. “We had a pontoon. That is our only exit to the pontoon.”
“We do look at it. We do review it,” Brown County Highway Commissioner Chris Hardy said of the resident concerns.
Hardy says feedback is welcomed and is still being collected through June 9.
Hardy says the Brown County Board of Supervisors will have the final say on the corridor’s speed limit. Aesthetic additions like bushes could depend on the project’s budget.
“There are issues with that too, right?” said Hardy. “Who maintains it? It’s there forever. It is trees? Is it bushes? Is that something for the property owner, the county, the city?”
“They’ve had 40, 50 years to think about this,” said Lutgen. “The last three to five years, they actually start planning for it and they still don’t know what the hell they’re doing.”
Lutgen says Streckenbach’s office has already replied to his letter, telling him the feedback will be carefully considered.
The total project, including the 41 interchange, is expected to cost $180 million. While construction on the interchange has started, work on the actual bridge will start in 2027.
Comments