bicyclists ; and roundabouts rather than traffic signals at the ramp terminals and nearby road intersections .
Interchange may spur economic growth
Due , in part , to these safety improvements , it ’ s expected that the new Highway 29-Highway VV interchange will be of significant economic benefit to western Brown County by making freight movement more efficient for area business and industry .
Officials believe the new interchange also will allow for more effective land use , transportation , and economic development planning in the future .
Take , for example , in the Village of Howard . “ This is going to be a huge game-changer for us ,” said Geoff Farr , the Village ’ s public works director . “ And not just us . It ' s a great project for the entire County .”
Since Farr began working for the Village in 1993 , the population has doubled to over 20,200 residents . It now has an established commercial and industrial base that includes paper products and firefighting foam manufacturers and a rendering plant . But Village officials are looking for more .
“ That highway intersection was always one of the stumbling blocks for us . It just wasn ’ t easy for trucks to get in and out of here ,” Farr said . “ So the new interchange will benefit us tremendously . We ’ ll continue to see growth . We ’ ll see new business and new industry .”
Complicated project design , timeline
WisDOT hired Ayres to develop initial designs for a new Highway 29-Highway VV interchange in 2010 , fully aware that those plans would be put on the shelf for several years until funding for the project could be secured .
Communication , coordination key to success
Along with designing the new Highway 29-Highway VV interchange , and later assisting with construction oversight , Ayres played a key role in facilitating cooperation between the various stakeholders involved in the project . In addition to Brown County and the Villages of Howard and Hobart , this included the Oneida Nation , as part of the project ’ s footprint affected tribal land south of Highway 29 . Two towns and a second county were also involved in the project ’ s initial planning stage .
“ We had to take all the individual communities ’ concerns and wrap them into the plans for the final project . So it was a big balancing act ,” said Phil Verville , lead roadway engineer for Ayres . “ There were some bumps in the road , but eventually we helped everyone realize that we just had to work together for the common good .”
Ayres project manager Troy Robillard played a particularly key role in this area , working with Wisconsin Department of Transportation officials in conducting many meetings with community leaders and a public hearing at which handouts , displays , and newsletters developed by Ayres served to keep area residents apprised of the project ’ s progress .
While competing interests in a project of this complexity inevitably create conflict , Robillard credits all involved for coming together .
“ The collaboration between these communities , the way they focused on the betterment of the project , was really vital ,” he said . “ I was really pleased to see how well they all worked together .”
A big consensus-building challenge was deciding the order in which the various aspects of this complicated project would be carried out . “ How are we going to stage all the different parts of this large project ? That was a major question for us ,” Verville said . “ How can we get buy-in from all the different communities involved ? There were so many fine details that were important to the people who live in that area .”
– Bob Brown www . AyresAssociates . com 25