THIS ISN'T THE FIRST TIME!
"We have STOPPED Washington County’s proposed ‘northern reliever route!'”
JULY 12, 2005
"Hello Friends & Neighbors: I HAVE MORE EXCELLENT NEWS TO REPORT!
WE WON ANOTHER MAJOR HIGHWAY BATTLE TODAY!!"
More specifically, we have just stopped Washington County's proposed "northern reliever route" which would have negatively impacted hundreds of homeowners and family farmers who live along Highway K, Kettle Moraine Road, Arthur Road, St. Lawrence Lane, Goodland Road and several other nearby roadways.
Today, in the presence of many concerned area residents (including me), the Washington County Board of Supervisors voted 22 to 8 to reject the "northern reliever route" proposal that was so heavily lobbied for by the City of Hartford.
With today's defeat of the "northern reliever route" along with the June 7th defeat of the "southern reliever route," we now have sent a very strong message to the City of Hartford that they alone are responsible for correcting their self-created traffic problems on Highway 60 inside their city borders.
As I mentioned before, these problems can be easily corrected with the following simple, low-cost improvements:
1) Eliminate the on street parking along Highway 60 in the middle of the city,
2) Remove the left turn lanes and the ability to make left turns at the Highways 60 & 83 intersection, thus favoring the more prevalent east-west, thru traffic on Highway 60, and 83)
Electronically-connecting the traffic lights on Highway 60 within the city so that the thru-traffic is not required to stop at almost every light while traveling on this busy highway.
On behalf of the Highway J Citizens Group, U.A., I want to THANK YOU for supporting our well-organized grassroots effort to defeat this unnecessary, fiscally-irresponsible and environmentally-damaging "reliever route" project (both the northern and southern routes). By stopping this project today, we not only have protected the homes, property values and precious environmental resources of this area, but we also have saved the taxpayers another $12 million (that's in addition to the over $21 million we saved by stopping the "southern reliever route" option last month)."
August 25, 2016 Newspaper Article by the "Daily News"
More questions as officials discuss Hartford reliever route
Supervisor: ‘Where is the money going to come from?’
By RALPH CHAPOCO - Daily News
August 25, 2016
It was a packed room during Wednesday’s Washington County Public Works Committee meeting as the audience, some vehemently opposed to a reliever route in Hartford, listened as members considered a proposal to construct one.
Committee members voted to investigate the impact of an additional alternate reliever route presented to them by representatives from the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, provided it didn’t obligate them to support the project in the future.
“I would support (Route) 11 with the caveat that I might support the project because I don’t want people to say, ‘Mike, you supported this, why are you not supporting the project?’ It puts us in a bind,” Supervisor Michael Miller said.
One potential reliever route exists in the 2035 Regional Transportation Plan.
The meeting was convened to determine whether that route should remain or if alternative should be proposed. If approved, and if members of the full County Board of Supervisors vote to agree with the change at the next meeting, the alternative replaces the route in the plan.
The alternative begins near Interstate 41 and proceeds westbound along Highway K and gradually turns south prior the intersection with Highway U.
It then meets up near Arthur Road.
The two other recommended routes also begin at Interstate 41 and travel southwest, connecting with Arthur Road at different points, but the alternative would bypass it completely.
Kenneth Yunker, the Commission’s executive director, said the proposed alternative provides a number of advantages that include reduced construction costs while maintaining similar benefits to the other two routes recommended in a prior meeting, namely comparable traffic times, reduced traffic volume and congestion on Highway 60 and minimizing the route’s impact on the community. “Alternative 11’s construction costs, we are estimating between $19.7 million and $20.2 million,” Yunker said.
“It is a little bit lower than Alternative 7 and Alternative 9.”
Routes 7 and 9 were the two other routes recommended.
County Administrator Joshua Schoemann said an alternative route’s purpose was to bypass the need to use Arthur Road. He referenced concerns from residents and supervisors about the increased development along that thoroughfare and the potential congestion that may occur with additional truck traffic.
Many residents are upset county supervisors are even considering a reliever route.
Yunker alluded to resident concerns during a public hearing hosted earlier this year. Many took issue with routes that infringed on farmland located north of Highway 60 that is actively used. After soliciting their feedback, other routes were included in the study from which the recommended routes came from.
The issue was brought up again during Wednesday’s meeting. “In your cost estimates with Route 11, we are splitting farms I am sure, and there was a number of them listed. How do we provide them access from one side of the farm to the other?” Miller said.
He asked if culverts will be provided or if the issue will be mitigated somehow, but Schoemann said there are no pastures located in the areas under consideration, only farmland.
However, an audience member shouted, “Yes, there is.”
Others questioned if the county could afford the project given officials could jettison other programs in light of priority-based budgeting.
Schoemann said the county petitioned the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for financial assistance. Members of the agency supported the proposal, but could not assist financially given its other priorities.
“Where is the money going to come from?” Miller asked.
“We just had a discussion on budgets and have a $1 million shortfall this year.
I know you can levy for borrowed money. That state allows you to do that.
You can’t keep the tax rate the same, so the tax rates have to go up for this borrowed money.”
Schoemann said the county could borrow money for the potential $20-million cost.
There could be a referendum or the use of sales tax funding or a wheel tax.
"We are interested in it, but we can’t afford it,” Miller said to the crowd’s applause.
Schoemann added it was premature to discuss funding provided there are still engineering studies that need to be completed."
Not in their backyard
Photo by: John Ehlke/Daily News
Story by: Joe Vandelaarschot, [email protected], 262-306-5054
TOWN OF HARTFORD - Those against a proposed reliever route for truck traffic around the city of Hartford didn't mince words at a meeting held Thursday night at Hartford Town Hall. They don't want the traffic problems moved to their town and will do whatever it takes to prevent the project from coming to fruition.
More than 100 people packed the hall as the No Washington County Reliever Route Committee held an information and organizational meeting. But it was more than just town of Hartford residents in attendance. Opponents of the proposal from the towns of St. Lawrence and Addison were also there.
Some expressed anger with what they think is the city's and the county's attempt to force construction of a highway they don't want and don't feel is needed. The recently announced preferred route, moving west-to-east, directs traffic north on Highway U and eventually turns east, using Highway K to connect with Interstate 41. County officials have estimated the cost of the route at about $20 million.
"We've been told that a majority of the truck traffic comes from the south. Then why don't they build the reliever route to the south of the city?" asked one audience member.
Members of the group said, according to the Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, 75-85 percent of the truck traffic for the two largest freight generators in the Hartford Industrial Park travel to or from the south. Town of Hartford Chairman Maury Strupp said he's been told there are several reasons for selecting a northern route. "There are no existing roads to the south, I'm told, that could serve as the route," Strupp said. "There are a lot of marshes in that area so the cost to build a southern route would be as much as three times higher than the preferred route."
Strupp told the audience that city and state officials could have solved the problem years ago when Highway 60 was reconstructed. "They should have widened the intersection at highways 60 and 83 when they had the chance then," Strupp said, which drew strong agreement from the audience.
The committee has been an informal group since it formed several weeks ago. At the Thursday night meeting attendees elected Melissa Kratz the group's chairman and Richard Kratz vice-chairman. Others volunteered to help with a door-to-door campaign, and to help the committee in other ways.
Mike Miller, who lives near the preferred route being proposed, said if the highway were built it would destroy the town of Lawrence. "It will take away several houses and ruin that community," Miller said. "It will be just like what happened in Allenton when they put the highway through there."
Dennis Gehring, of the town of Hartford, also opposes the project. "It's going to cause traffic problems, noise and change the way of life in the area where the route is proposed," Gehring said. Pam Watkins, who has served as one of the committee's leaders said "there should be no reliever route. The should stay on Highway 60. We all need to come together to fight this," she said. "The proposed route of 8-10 miles will make the trip longer for truck drivers and GPS will more than likely still direct them onto the Highway 60 route."
Watkins also urged audience members to continue to contact county supervisors to let them know they are agains the reliever route. "But please be respectful when you talk to them," Watkins said. "They work for the people, but it serves everyone better to talk in a respectful manner about this issue."
Photo by: John Ehlke/Daily News
Story by: Joe Vandelaarschot, [email protected], 262-306-5054
TOWN OF HARTFORD - Those against a proposed reliever route for truck traffic around the city of Hartford didn't mince words at a meeting held Thursday night at Hartford Town Hall. They don't want the traffic problems moved to their town and will do whatever it takes to prevent the project from coming to fruition.
More than 100 people packed the hall as the No Washington County Reliever Route Committee held an information and organizational meeting. But it was more than just town of Hartford residents in attendance. Opponents of the proposal from the towns of St. Lawrence and Addison were also there.
Some expressed anger with what they think is the city's and the county's attempt to force construction of a highway they don't want and don't feel is needed. The recently announced preferred route, moving west-to-east, directs traffic north on Highway U and eventually turns east, using Highway K to connect with Interstate 41. County officials have estimated the cost of the route at about $20 million.
"We've been told that a majority of the truck traffic comes from the south. Then why don't they build the reliever route to the south of the city?" asked one audience member.
Members of the group said, according to the Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, 75-85 percent of the truck traffic for the two largest freight generators in the Hartford Industrial Park travel to or from the south. Town of Hartford Chairman Maury Strupp said he's been told there are several reasons for selecting a northern route. "There are no existing roads to the south, I'm told, that could serve as the route," Strupp said. "There are a lot of marshes in that area so the cost to build a southern route would be as much as three times higher than the preferred route."
Strupp told the audience that city and state officials could have solved the problem years ago when Highway 60 was reconstructed. "They should have widened the intersection at highways 60 and 83 when they had the chance then," Strupp said, which drew strong agreement from the audience.
The committee has been an informal group since it formed several weeks ago. At the Thursday night meeting attendees elected Melissa Kratz the group's chairman and Richard Kratz vice-chairman. Others volunteered to help with a door-to-door campaign, and to help the committee in other ways.
Mike Miller, who lives near the preferred route being proposed, said if the highway were built it would destroy the town of Lawrence. "It will take away several houses and ruin that community," Miller said. "It will be just like what happened in Allenton when they put the highway through there."
Dennis Gehring, of the town of Hartford, also opposes the project. "It's going to cause traffic problems, noise and change the way of life in the area where the route is proposed," Gehring said. Pam Watkins, who has served as one of the committee's leaders said "there should be no reliever route. The should stay on Highway 60. We all need to come together to fight this," she said. "The proposed route of 8-10 miles will make the trip longer for truck drivers and GPS will more than likely still direct them onto the Highway 60 route."
Watkins also urged audience members to continue to contact county supervisors to let them know they are agains the reliever route. "But please be respectful when you talk to them," Watkins said. "They work for the people, but it serves everyone better to talk in a respectful manner about this issue."
DAILY NEWS ARTICLE
From the
Friday, September 9, 2016 Newspaper
The DAILY NEWS is Washington County's Daily Newspaper.
Vice Chairman Richard Kratz gives his opinion on why support is needed during the Washington County No Reliever Route Committee meeting Thursday night in the town of Hartford
From the
Friday, September 9, 2016 Newspaper
The DAILY NEWS is Washington County's Daily Newspaper.
Vice Chairman Richard Kratz gives his opinion on why support is needed during the Washington County No Reliever Route Committee meeting Thursday night in the town of Hartford