Jan 22

Written by: Steve Erbach
Thursday, January 22, 2009 6:00 AM

The big attraction was the meeting of the Committee of the Whole from 6:10pm to 7:38pm.  The single agenda item:

Consideration of the Green Bay Road/Winneconne Avenue traffic improvement projects.

The meeting featured soft-spoken Deputy Director of Public Works, Gerry Kaiser at the podium explaining the multiple options the city has with respect to the construction of new intersections in the Shopko Plaza/Fox Point Plaza area.  There are multiple options because the rebuilding of the Breezewood interchange by the state of Wisconsin factors prominently in the city's plans.

Here are the four options as presented by Kaiser:

Option 1: City and WisDOT keep current schedule*

Pro

Winneconne/Green Bay improvements are made in advance of the increased traffic that will result from closure of the Breezewood interchange.

Con

Task of public education on driving multi-lane roundabouts falls largely to the City. We may have an opportunity to partner with WisDOT based on their public education effort for the USH 41 construction. Winneconne/Green Bay roundabout will see a significant increase in traffic early in the local public's experience with multi-lane roundabouts. During Winneconne construction, Breezewood interchange and Cecil/Green Bay will experience increased delay due to diverted traffic from Winneconne.

* The "current schedule" referred to above means that the city will re-build four intersections -- Green Bay Rd./Winneconne Ave., Lake St./Winneconne Ave., Green Bay Rd. at Fox Point Plaza/Big Lots, and Green Bay Rd. at the Shopko Plaza -- during the years 2010 and 2011.  The construction takes two years because traffic flow through those intersections will still be provided for.  The WisDOT will re-build the Hwy 41 interchange at Breezewood Lane in 2013.  Construction will take one year because that interchange will be completely shut down.  No traffic over the Breezewood Lane overpass whatsoever.

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