Brown County’s southern bridge poised to get $50 million; De Pere ready with a new name
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
DE PERE - The state budget is poised to include $50 million for a new bridge across the Fox River, a new Interstate 41 interchange is on the schedule, and De Pere recommended a new name.
The South Bridge Connector route has become a concrete reality after more than 60 years of planning.
Once completed, the $128.8 million road project, going west-to-east, will start at Packerland Drive and Williams Grant Drive, jog south to the new I-41 interchange, follow Southbridge and Red Maple roads to the Fox River, then follow Rockland Road northeast to Heritage and Monroe roads in the Ledgeview/Bellevue area.
"From our standpoint, this is an amazing turn of events," Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach said. "We're going to have the sections on the west side of the Fox River along with the (I-41) interchange completed, hopefully, by 2027."
New I-41 interchange will kick off project
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation included a new I-41 interchange for the south bridge route in its plans to expand I-41 from De Pere to Appleton.
Eric Gwidt, a WisDOT I-41 project supervisor, said work will begin in late 2024-early 2025 when crews start to pile up dirt at the new I-41 interchange. New interchange construction will be completed in 2026. WisDOT has an I-41 project website with more detailed information on the expansion project at i41project.wisconsindot.gov.
West-side segments will go up first, include new roundabouts
The state's I-41 interchange timeline means Brown County, the city of De Pere and town of Lawrence will have to complete the connecting road segments by 2026.
Paul Fontecchio, Brown County highway commissioner, said roadwork will be split up into four segments:
Roundabout and road construction on Williams Grant Drive, Scheuring Road and Packerland Drive (County EB) will run from April to September 2025.
Road construction on Southbridge Road, including a new roundabout at Lawrence Drive, also will run from April to September 2025.
A short bridge to be constructed on the new road toward the I-41 interchange will run from September 2025 to April 2026.
The final segment connecting the new road to the new interchange will be constructed from April to September 2026.
Fontecchio said project engineering and design work for segments east of the Fox River will move forward once the region learns whether Gov. Tony Evers signs the state budget, which includes the Fox River bridge funding.
According to the county's South Bridge project page, the segment from South Broadway, also known as County PP, to Monroe Road, also known as County GV, is currently scheduled for completion in 2027. The segment from South Broadway to State 57 is scheduled for completion in 2028.
New Fox River bridge will take a little longer
The money included in the state budget would finance bridge construction, but design and engineering work mean the project probably won't start until 2027. Local municipalities will have to build "everything to the river" as early bridge work begins, Streckenbach said.
"No later than 2030, the bridge is actually completed," Streckenbach said.
The timeline makes it easier to pursue more state and federal money to finance the other portions of the project. Still, Streckenbach said the project has gained a lot of momentum.
"A project of this size has not had bipartisan or local support at the level it sees today," Streckenbach said.
De Pere suggests naming bridge after man FDR called 'Mr. Social Security'
De Pere Mayor James Boyd on June 26 told the city's Plan Commission the reality of South Bridge Connector's coming finally set in when Brown County and state officials asked the city to recommend a name for the new bridge.
"The finish line is in sight. It’s pretty exciting," Boyd said.
Boyd, city staff and the De Pere Historical Society brainstormed for ideas and came up with De Pere's Arthur J. Altmeyer.
Altmeyer was born in 1891, graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison in the 1910s, and would become an influential figure in the design and creation of the U.S. Social Security system in the 1930s. He was one of the commissioners appointed to the new Social Security Board that ran the program and served as chairman of the board or Commissioner for Social Security from 1937 to 1953, according to the Social Security Administration's biography of Altmeyer.
The Plan Commission staff report and Altmeyer's SSA biography both note President Franklin D. Roosevelt and others called Altmeyer "Mr. Social Security" for his contributions to the development and early administration of it.
The Plan Commission on June 26 voted to name the bridge after him, though the recommendation still needs to be approved by the De Pere City Council, which next meets July 18.
Search is on for more federal, state dollars to help with South Bridge Connector's $128.8 million price tag
The South Bridge route's already has about $55 million in state and federal funding lined up, much of that being for the new bridge. Four local municipalities will have to fund the remaining $73.8 million in projected costs. This does not include the new I-41 interchange; that project's included in WisDOT's I-41 expansion budget.
Fontecchio estimates local costs, based on current projections of:
Brown County, $36.9 million;
De Pere, $26.2 million;
Town of Ledgeview, $6.5 million; and
Town of Lawrence, $4.2 million.
Streckenbach said the community plans to continue to pursue additional state and federal funding to help defray the local costs.
Boyd called the city's share "substantial," and said the municipalities are working together to pursue state and federal dollars.
"We’re hoping, the county is hoping as well, that there are other funding sources we can tap into for completion," Boyd said. "The county has the lead but we’re very supportive of them in the search for more money."
More: Nearly 500 housing units coming to former Humana campus in De Pere
CONTINUE YOUR SUPPORT: Thanks to our subscribers for making this coverage possible. Be sure to download our app on the App Store or Google Play. Follow us on social media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Newsletters
Contact Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JeffBollier.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: South Bridge Connector next steps take shape, De Pere ready to name it
