Time to Choose a Highway 60 Reliever Route

The Public Works Committee refused to recommend a specific route, instead kicking the issue up to the full County Board.  I am guessing that we will see it at our October meeting, but haven’t confirmed that yet.  So this means that I and my fellow Supervisors need to look over all of the info I have to pick out a route that we should study (not build, just study with the interest of possibly building).  Picking a route does not commit us to moving forward with the project, but it is best to study the most likely route.

The first thing I did was make a list of all 11 routes.  I also added the current route to the list.  I then began to look at which ones I could easily eliminate from consideration, and settled on eliminating 4 options:

·         Option #2---This is just a completely stupid route.

·         Option #8---This is in my mind the stupidest route on the map, especially since it continues past Clover Rd.

·         Option #3---This route is basically a version of #7, but with and extra 2 miles on the freeway followed by an extra 2 miles on the frontage road to avoid exiting directly onto Arthur Road.

·         Current route---This is basically the same as #5 except that it does not account for the efficiencies built into all of the route north of the Hartford Business Parks.

I then looked for other factors that could eliminate routes.  Environmental impacts, in my mind, negated options #5 and #10.  I then looked at efficiencies, and decided that option #6 was too much like option #9, but less efficient near St. Lawrence, so I eliminated that one.

That brought me down to 5 practical routes.  I would support any of these 5 routes for additional study.  But which ones is best?  I decided to prioritize the 5 routes based primarily on which route I as a driver would be most likely to take.  After all, if the truckers don’t use it, what’s the point of doing this project? I looked at it as if I was going from Downtown Milwaukee to the Hartford Industrial Park and wanted to avoid the intersection of highway 60 and highway 83.  Based on that, I prioritized those 5 routes this way:

1.       Option #4.  It is very low cost, the least extra miles, and has the lowest impact.

2.       Option #7.  It only goes up 1 freeway exit, and is a straight shot west.  A frontage road between the freeway exit and Arthur Road might increase efficiencies.

3.       Option #9.  It avoids St. Lawrence.

4.       Option #1.  It primarily uses existing county roads.

5.       Option #11.  It follows option #1, and while it adds efficiency, it splits more farm fields.

As I continue to look at the info on these 11 routes, I might change my priority list a bit.  I have not met with Scott Schmidt yet, and that will be a very important meeting that might cause me to change my priority list a bit.

Update:  Since writing this, I have already gotten feedback that there is a need for modification of option #4, as the existing plan would significantly impact a church and several houses.  I plan to stop out there later this afternoon to visually survey the area where 83 connects to Main St.

I am also open to hearing any other feedback from any community members.  You can contact me through either my personal e-mail ( cluke04@yahoo.com ) or my County e-mail ( christopher.bossert@co.washington.wi.us ).

The other thing to note is that, when we as a County Board meet, there might be some need to compromise in order to reach a consensus, so while I go in with my priority list, that doesn't mean that I am locking myself into any specific route among the 5 that I see as viable.

2nd Update:  I drove out to Hartford, and explored Option #4.  I drove back home following Arthur Road to learn more about Option #7.  Each one had some obstacles, and yet if the reliever route is worth doing, it is worth doing right (I define doing this right as creating a route that truck drivers will want to use).

Option #4 would involve dislocating a couple of multi-family apartment buildings, a few homes, and possibly impact a church.  I would push for a redesign to avoid the church if we decide upon this route.

Option #7 looked like it had a lot of potential.  It was a straight shot that practically drove right into the Hartford Business park.  For challenges, Arthur road is currently split by the freeway, so an overpass would have to be built.  Just to the west of the freeway, there is an old bridge that has a weight limit and a 10 MPH speed limit on it.  The roads were not anywhere close to being ready for semi-trucks, and would need massive improvement.  But as far as potential for what it can become, I saw a lot.