Walker backs proposal to upgrade Hwy 41 to Interstate standards.

[TheMightyFavog]

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20110504/GPG0101/105040705/1207/gpg0101/Walker-wants-U-S-41-upgraded-interstate-between-Green-Bay-Milwaukee

Gov. Scott Walker wants to turn U.S. 41 into an interstate, piggybacking off the improvements already under way in Northeastern Wisconsin.

The Federal Highway Authority needs to approve the change, and Walker said he hoped an environmental study could be completed in a few years and interstate shield signs could be placed along the 142-mile stretch of highway between Green Bay and the Mitchell Interchange in Milwaukee by 2015.

"From my point of view, transportation is not just about transportation. It's about economic development," Walker said during a press conference Tuesday at the U.S. 41 Interstate Conversion Office in Green Bay. "This helps attract growth in existing businesses as well as attracting other employers to this region when they can say, 'Hey, we're right off of this interstate.'"

The state Department of Transportation will spend the next few years elevating the highway to interstate standards at a cost of $15 million to $20 million. Improvements include wider shoulders and installing cable guardrails along some medians

[CatholicEdHead]

1. Does he not realize I-43 is not that far away?

[TheMightyFavog]

2. I-43 doesn't go all the way up to the Michigan Border

I smell the hand of John Gard... I guess ruining a beautiful wild island in the Bay of Green Bay with a "mini Mackinac Island" for the rich wasn't enough for him.

[Sabriel]

3. Perpetual construction...yay! Rich contractors...yay!

Teachers and state employees getting a living wage with benefits...boo!

I cannot WAIT until he's gone.

[ewagner]

4. sooooo...

how much did the Highway Construction Companies donate to Walker?

[TheMightyFavog]

5. And here's the kicker

They just improved Hwy 41 Between Oconto and Peshtigo a few years ago. (It was needed, BTW. Before the widening, 41 between Peshtigo and Oconto was a dangerous two lane mess.) When they widened it decisions they made were made to 1. only make the stretch around Peshtigo limited access, and 2. keep 41 going through the city of Marinette. If this plan goes through., they will have to spend a shit ton of money putting up overpasses and/or cutting off county and municpal roads, deciding where to put exits (Which can be very political. Look what happened when they widened 141 up by me and Gard screwed over the village of Pound) Not to mention god knows how much they'll have to spend bypassing Marinette and Menominee, MI. (Which is in the middle of some improvements of its own to 41.)

[ewagner]

7. I used to travel 41 and 441

in that "neck of the woods" quite a bit. You're right on all counts.

Old 41 was a dangerous two-lane road and traveling it at night was always worrisome...and Pound has been completely screwed by the new road. I went up to Dave's Falls right after it was completed and I was amazed about the route that was taken by the new highway.

I hope the rest of 41 doesn't go interstate.

[TheMightyFavog]

8. Here's the deal...

Pound was originally supposed to get an exit to 141. At some point during the planning phase, that exit got moved to Lena (John Gard's "boyhood home.") Guess who was Assembly Speaker during that point of the planning phase?

[LTR]

6. This has been in the works for years

Since about 2005, written into the federal highway bill, so this is nothing new. And this was proposed years ago, but the decision instead was to upgrade the old US 141 to I-43, since it was cheaper and provided a direct route to Green Bay. US 41 from Milwaukee to the Fox Valley has been going through a lot of upgrades over the past few years to bring it up to interstate standards. I admit that I am somewhat of a road geek, and I do see the point of making it an interstate. Fox Valley is a growing part of the state and would benefit from an actual interstate, along with the associated safety upgrades and whatnot. And $15-20 does not sound outrageous for such a project. So yeah, I support it. And I don't care if the idea came from a Republican (Rep. Tom Petrie, not Scott Walker, who had absolutely nothing to do with it). Highways are a necessary evil (though I think they are getting a bit carried away with the whole thing in Milwaukee County). But upgrading US 41 is an inevitability. Might as well do it right.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_41_in_Wisconsin

[TheMightyFavog]

9. But what's the point?

US 41 is a four lane divided highway with a max speed limit of 65, just like I-43. And Marinette, aside 41, doesn't go right through the center of towns anymore. What's the bloody point of upgrading it to interstate standards? Isn't it good enough as it is?

[LTR]

10. Interstates are more durable, wider and safer

The purpose of upgrading is to bring the entire highway from Milwaukee through the Fox Valley to Green Bay up to these standards. It will also be much friendlier to truck traffic. As for not going through the center of towns, most interstates don't.

I do find it funny that Walker is jumping in on this and trying to claim credit for the proposed I-41 (or I-55 or I-243 or whatever the thing will be called). This thing's been slowly being upgraded to interstate status for years!

[mysuzuki2]

11. Let me see now

gas is over $4/gallon and probably going higher. Our (not so) beloved governor has cut funds for public transportation in the cities and has turned down federal funds for public trans between cities. Yet we want to expand highways. I'm not saying that this project, in and of itself, is a bad thing. I'm just saying that perhaps it is time to encourage and invest in public transportation as much as roads.