Regional Boards > Great Lakes and Ohio Valley
Unused WISDOT ROW
peterj920:
Traveling around the state there’s a few areas that WISDOT purchased ROW and doesn’t have any intentions to use it for expansion. Here’s a few places.
Wis 11/Wis 81 from Balls Mills Rd to the Wis 81/11 east junction.
Wis 35/65 River Falls Bypass
Wis 21 east of Omro
US 14 from Brooklyn to Oregon
US 151 from Wis 23 to Peebles
US 12 Whitewater Bypass
There’s probably more that isn’t in this list.
Seems like these highways are going to have unused ROW for many years and may never be used as there aren’t any plans to use it for expansion.
invincor:
--- Quote from: peterj920 on September 18, 2023, 05:54:35 PM ---Traveling around the state there’s a few areas that WISDOT purchased ROW and doesn’t have any intentions to use it for expansion. Here’s a few places.
Wis 35/65 River Falls Bypass
There’s probably more that isn’t in this list.
Seems like these highways are going to have unused ROW for many years and may never be used as there aren’t any plans to use it for expansion.
--- End quote ---
I'm not sure which bits of ROW around 35/65 you're thinking about, but I do know some of the background on it.
When they first started the expansion in the 90s, they laid out plans to eventually convert the whole of 35 between I-94 in Hudson and River Falls to a full 4-lane freeway over a period of 20 years, with the last stage taking place around 2015 or so. They made good on all but the last central chunk of that, where there's still a 3-mile stretch in the middle that's only expressway with at-grade crossings, and I've heard no rumblings on the current DOT people wanting to complete that anytime soon given the costs involved. They'd have to provide two new frontage roads on either side of the freeway to connect up all the private residences (and the trailer park) whose current access would be severed, and build a new flyover ramp or partial interchange at Glover Road, while at the same time preserving the electrical substation that's there.
The only "unused" area I can think of really is the extra room they've left themselves to the southeast side after the road contracts back to 2-lane highway in town. That area was new alignment when it was built, and included a large road cut. They left and reserved that extra room along the side so they can extend the 4-lane section further south to the Highway 29 junction someday should that ever be warranted, and since it was all-new to start with, that was easy to do. That ROW should be left reserved, imo.
peterj920:
--- Quote from: invincor on September 19, 2023, 09:08:27 AM ---
--- Quote from: peterj920 on September 18, 2023, 05:54:35 PM ---Traveling around the state there’s a few areas that WISDOT purchased ROW and doesn’t have any intentions to use it for expansion. Here’s a few places.
Wis 35/65 River Falls Bypass
There’s probably more that isn’t in this list.
Seems like these highways are going to have unused ROW for many years and may never be used as there aren’t any plans to use it for expansion.
--- End quote ---
I'm not sure which bits of ROW around 35/65 you're thinking about, but I do know some of the background on it.
When they first started the expansion in the 90s, they laid out plans to eventually convert the whole of 35 between I-94 in Hudson and River Falls to a full 4-lane freeway over a period of 20 years, with the last stage taking place around 2015 or so. They made good on all but the last central chunk of that, where there's still a 3-mile stretch in the middle that's only expressway with at-grade crossings, and I've heard no rumblings on the current DOT people wanting to complete that anytime soon given the costs involved. They'd have to provide two new frontage roads on either side of the freeway to connect up all the private residences (and the trailer park) whose current access would be severed, and build a new flyover ramp or partial interchange at Glover Road, while at the same time preserving the electrical substation that's there.
The only "unused" area I can think of really is the extra room they've left themselves to the southeast side after the road contracts back to 2-lane highway in town. That area was new alignment when it was built, and included a large road cut. They left and reserved that extra room along the side so they can extend the 4-lane section further south to the Highway 29 junction someday should that ever be warranted, and since it was all-new to start with, that was easy to do. That ROW should be left reserved, imo.
--- End quote ---
Where the rock cut is what I’m referring to as the unused ROW on the bypass. It doesn’t seem like there’s any plans to use it. River Falls is strange to me. There’s a 4 lane connection with Wis 35 to I-94 and there aren’t any 4 lane roads in River Falls anywhere.
invincor:
--- Quote from: peterj920 on September 19, 2023, 11:03:38 AM ---
Where the rock cut is what I’m referring to as the unused ROW on the bypass. It doesn’t seem like there’s any plans to use it. River Falls is strange to me. There’s a 4 lane connection with Wis 35 to I-94 and there aren’t any 4 lane roads in River Falls anywhere.
--- End quote ---
That road cut went in in the 1990s. It was undeveloped hill before that. And like I said, it's been reserved in case they ever want to extend the 4-lane section further south.
The city of River Falls has seen a lot of population growth in my lifetime. When I was a kid, there was only one stoplight in town and the population was something like 9000. Today, we're on something like 10-12 stoplights and the population is over 16,000. The 4-lane WI 35 is solely to give an expressway connection from River Falls up to Hudson and I-94 and allow fast commuting to the Twin Cities metro.
I work in the press box of our baseball field near the 2-lane part of the bypass, and when I look out at it during games there is continual, constant heavy traffic on it in both directions until at least 9pm.
The Ghostbuster:
Maybe the DOT should hang on to the purchased right-of-way just in case they one day decide to utilize it for road improvements. It will probably never happen, but one can dream.
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