New Highway 10 plan is flawed The state Department of Transportation planning is appalling. After years of ignoring preservation of the Highway 10 corridor into Stevens Point, the DOT is proposing that the highway be rerouted through pristine and undeveloped areas northeast of the city. In the 1980s, Highway 10 was identified as an important corridor for transportation. The route was deemed secondary to Highway 29 through the Wausau area as an east-west corridor across the state. It was viewed as an important arterial from the Fox Valley to the west, a feeder to 29 in the Wausau area. With that in mind, Stevens Point tried to hold off development and expansion of the urban area to the east. The city proposed a frontage road along the Highway 10 corridor into the city to reduce cross-traffic, but the DOT didn't want that. Apparently, that was planning too much in advance. As a result, the city has witnessed a development explosion to the east. Now the state, possibly at a cost that may exceed purchasing all the property along 10, wants to bypass the area, starting at County Trunk J and going either north or south. State officials say they want a Highway 10 route through the county with a 55 mph speed zone to connect with Interstate 39, not the present 40 mph zone for three miles, with three or four traffic signals. The south route would take traffic to County Trunk HH, through Whiting and southern Stevens Point and out to County Trunk P, where it would connect with a new Highway 10 route to Junction City. The north route would obliterate some of the natural areas that residents treasure most about Portage County. That route would be south of Jordan County Park through the Stevens Point well field area, the Izaak Walton League property and the former Boy Scout land known as Camp Fletcher. The Scouts donated the land to the city to protect the city's wellhead and ensure the property wouldn't be developed, with the stipulation Scouts would have use of the land in perpetuity. Many county residents are familiar with area. The Green Circle Trail goes through it, and cross country skiers utilize the property during the winter. Now the state wants to end the protection of the Plover River region and invade another treasured natural area in the county. – Gene Kemmeter