Four-lane to Fond du Lac will be welcome
ONCE IT SEEMED TO
be decades away but now it’s just down the road.
The road is State 23 and in just four years it will be a four-lane highway all the way from Sheboygan to Fond du Lac.
State Department of Transportation officials held several information meetings earlier this month — the second one in Greenbush — on the last part of the project, the addition of two more lanes between County P in Plymouth and U.S. 151 in Fond du Lac. The work will begin in 2012 and be completed in 2014, according to the DOT timetable.
Once the project is completed, it should be a great benefit for Plymouth and Sheboygan County. With the four lanes to Fond du Lac, Plymouth will truly be at the hub of a modern, efficient four-lane transportation system, with connections in all directions — north, south, east and west — to Fond du Lac, Sheboygan, Green Bay, the Fox Valley, Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago and beyond.
That will make Plymouth and Sheboygan County even more attractive for new businesses and industries to start up or move here and for existing ones to expand and grow.
Naturally, there were many questions and concerns raised at the information meetings. This is no small undertaking. It will require the DOT to purchase 245 acres of land for right-of-way, including close to 50 barns, homes, businesses and other structures that will have to be removed.
It will also change the nature of the highway, with many intersections being closed and many others being altered.
The biggest change will be the introduction of J-turn intersections along the highway. This modified full intersection, new to Wisconsin but tested and proven elsewhere, will allow access to the highway while reducing the risks for crashes at full intersections.
Like the roundabouts that were introduced to local drivers by the DOT in recent years throughout Sheboygan County and Wisconsin, the J-turn intersections will require some adjustments and learning for drivers who are unaccustomed to them. But in time, they will become second nature for most drivers, and the next generation of drivers may well wonder how their predecessors ever got anywhere safely without them.
That will be the generation of drivers who will benefit the most from the benefits an improved State 23 will bring to this area. And they will probably also wonder how we ever lived so long without it.
At issue: State 23 project Bottom line: Well worth the wait
