Wisconsin DOT holds public meetings on I-41 expansion

(WLUK) -- The Interstate-41 expansion project in Northeast Wisconsin continues.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is holding community meetings, Tuesday through Thursday, to update residents about the project.

The billion dollar expansion is a 23-mile project that runs from Wisconsin Avenue in Grand Chute to Scheuring Road in De Pere.

"Full reconstruct of all the pavement. We are going to be adding a lane in each direction, so when we are done, there will be three lanes in each direction," says DOT Project Development Section Manager Chad DeGrave. "We are going to be adding that additional lane to the median side, so that grass median you see now will be filled in."

DeGrave says all of the interchanges will either be redone or improved. And there will be an interchange added in De Pere.

“We do have one additional interchange that we will be adding at Southbridge; it's about a mile south of the Scheuring Road interchange," says DeGrave.

One of the main concerns the DOT is hearing from residents in the area is the length of time the project will take.

“Construction is expected to start in 2024. It should be a roughly six-year window about running into 2029-2030," says DOT Corridor Project Manager Scott Ebel.

Residents are able to ask questions and give feedback through the meetings happening this week.

Ebel says they are beginning their next steps in the project.

"We do have a lot of survey work going on on the project. You may see survey crews either along I-41 or along the side roads. We also have a lot of geotechnical investigations going on," says Ebel.

Other next steps include local coordination, real estate and transportation management planning.

The main purpose of the project is safety.

“If you get any vehicle stalled on the shoulder, it backs up traffic, and we get secondary crashes," says DeGraves.

If you would like to share feedback or hear more about the project, the Wisconsin DOT has two in person meetings left this week: Wednesday and Thursday.