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Two north crossings looked at

By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
The prime areas for a Wisconsin River crossing north of Stevens Point for Highway 10 are in the area of County Trunk X and Mayflower-Maple Road, both in the town of Dewey.

Randy Fuchs, project manager of Earth Tech, which is studying possible routes to upgrade 10 to four lanes around Stevens Point, said the list of alternatives was narrowed after input from the Citizen Advisory Committee.

Those alternatives include eight in the Junction City area west of the river, and the two corridors to cross the river west of Interstate 39.

The X alternative is different than one opposed by the state Department of Natural Resources and identified in a Dec. 29 story in The Gazette.

The new X alternative would be north of the existing X interchange and follow a corridor north of Pinewood Drive that is like a bottleneck of high ground stretching toward the river.

A bridge across the river would then connect with a similar bottleneck of high ground on the west side, reducing impact on a wetlands area the DNR was concerned about. The route would go through a cornfield and a wheat field instead of wetlands.

The second crossing, in the Mayflower-Maple roads area, would be north of a previously discussed area. Putting an interchange in at the previous location would have required moving I-39 because there isn't sufficient space to put an interchange, Fuchs said.

That crossing may also be impacted by the river, he said, because the floodwaters are four feet higher than at X.

In the Junction City area, Fuchs said only the existing 10 route was ruled out as an alternative. That leaves six routes to study, one north and two south bypasses of Junction City, combinations of those bypasses and utilizing Wisconsin Central Ltd. roadbed.

Fuchs said Earth Tech and the state Department of Transportation will meet with Junction City and town of Eau Pleine representatives to discuss the alternatives they prefer.

Fuchs said Earth Tech is recommending the alternatives for further study but the DOT will make the final decision on those studies, possibly within the next two weeks. Right now the alternatives are only wide corridors, he said, and the additional study will better identify possible routes.

Once those studies are made, a public information meeting will be held in June, with a draft environmental impact statement in July and a public hearing in September.

Fuchs said the advisory committee will probably meet again in November of 2001 to review the project again. The project itself is scheduled for construction in the summer of 2010.

The X corridor was modified to reduce impact not only on the east side of the river, but also the west side, and Dave Barth of the District 4 DOT office in Wisconsin Rapids, said the major changes were west of the river.

They were made after representatives of the Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, DNR, DOT and Earth Tech made field reviews. "We were able to come up with a corridor to utilize the X crossing that minimizes impacts," Barth said.

Among those agreeing that the revised corridor is viable is Jim Grafelman, transportation liaison for the DNR, who was opposed to the initial X proposal because of its impact on wetlands.

George Meyer, secretary of the DNR, who reiterated his opposition to an X crossing in a Nov. 20 letter to the DOT, was not informed of the revised proposal until December when DOT officials contacted him.

The committee also heard two more alternatives for 10 between County Trunk K and I-39, both utilizing Highway 66 in the town of Hull, with one of them encroaching on the Stevens Point Municipal Airport. The DOT began looking at that area this summer.

Fuchs said the state would go either north or south of the existing 10 after ruling out using the existing corridor by building a double-decker bridge of approximately 1.5 miles. That proposal would cost about $60 million, he said.

One proposal would go east from Casimir Road, following a utility line and crossing the Plover River and connecting with existing 10 west of County Trunk J.

Another route would go northwest to 66 from J, north of a residential area. That route would impact the northeast runway of the airport, Fuchs said.
Both those routes would require crossing the Plover River, which has drawn objections, and Fuchs said the city's wells could possibly be relocated to avoid potential contamination.

Everything east of I-39 is conceptual right now, he said, and more detailed study is about to begin.

The possible routes east of I-39 include going from 10 at J to County Trunk HH past the Portage County Business Park and connecting with I-39 to go north of the city.

Fuchs said using HH through the village of Whiting and across the river was ruled out as an alternative because the route would have required a lot of relocations and impacted wetlands on the west side, where an interchange with County Trunk P would be in the 100-year floodplain.



	Two north crossings looked at By GENE KEMMETER of The Gazette The prime areas for a Wisconsin River crossing north of Stevens Point for Highway 10 are in the area of County Trunk X and Mayflower-Maple Road, both in the town of Dewey. Randy Fuchs, project manager of Earth Tech, which is studying possible routes to upgrade 10 to four lanes around Stevens Point, said the list of alternatives was narrowed after input from the Citizen Advisory Committee. Those alternatives include eight in the Junction City area west of the river, and the two corridors to cross the river west of Interstate 39. The X alternative is different than one opposed by the state Department of Natural Resources and identified in a Dec. 29 story in The Gazette. The new X alternative would be north of the existing X interchange and follow a corridor north of Pinewood Drive that is like a bottleneck of high ground stretching toward the river. A bridge across the river would then connect with a similar bottleneck of high ground on the west side, reducing impact on a wetlands area the DNR was concerned about. The route would go through a cornfield and a wheat field instead of wetlands. The second crossing, in the Mayflower-Maple roads area, would be north of a previously discussed area. Putting an interchange in at the previous location would have required moving I-39 because there isn't sufficient space to put an interchange, Fuchs said. That crossing may also be impacted by the river, he said, because the floodwaters are four feet higher than at X. In the Junction City area, Fuchs said only the existing 10 route was ruled out as an alternative. That leaves six routes to study, one north and two south bypasses of Junction City, combinations of those bypasses and utilizing Wisconsin Central Ltd. roadbed. Fuchs said Earth Tech and the state Department of Transportation will meet with Junction City and town of Eau Pleine representatives to discuss the alternatives they prefer. Fuchs said Earth Tech is recommending the alternatives for further study but the DOT will make the final decision on those studies, possibly within the next two weeks. Right now the alternatives are only wide corridors, he said, and the additional study will better identify possible routes. Once those studies are made, a public information meeting will be held in June, with a draft environmental impact statement in July and a public hearing in September. Fuchs said the advisory committee will probably meet again in November of 2001 to review the project again. The project itself is scheduled for construction in the summer of 2010. The X corridor was modified to reduce impact not only on the east side of the river, but also the west side, and Dave Barth of the District 4 DOT office in Wisconsin Rapids, said the major changes were west of the river. They were made after representatives of the Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, DNR, DOT and Earth Tech made field reviews. "We were able to come up with a corridor to utilize the X crossing that minimizes impacts," Barth said. Among those agreeing that the revised corridor is viable is Jim Grafelman, transportation liaison for the DNR, who was opposed to the initial X proposal because of its impact on wetlands. George Meyer, secretary of the DNR, who reiterated his opposition to an X crossing in a Nov. 20 letter to the DOT, was not informed of the revised proposal until December when DOT officials contacted him. The committee also heard two more alternatives for 10 between County Trunk K and I-39, both utilizing Highway 66 in the town of Hull, with one of them encroaching on the Stevens Point Municipal Airport. The DOT began looking at that area this summer. Fuchs said the state would go either north or south of the existing 10 after ruling out using the existing corridor by building a double-decker bridge of approximately 1.5 miles. That proposal would cost about $60 million, he said. One proposal would go east from Casimir Road, following a utility line and crossing the Plover River and connecting with existing 10 west of County Trunk J. Another route would go northwest to 66 from J, north of a residential area. That route would impact the northeast runway of the airport, Fuchs said. Both those routes would require crossing the Plover River, which has drawn objections, and Fuchs said the city's wells could possibly be relocated to avoid potential contamination. Everything east of I-39 is conceptual right now, he said, and more detailed study is about to begin. The possible routes east of I-39 include going from 10 at J to County Trunk HH past the Portage County Business Park and connecting with I-39 to go north of the city. Fuchs said using HH through the village of Whiting and across the river was ruled out as an alternative because the route would have required a lot of relocations and impacted wetlands on the west side, where an interchange with County Trunk P would be in the 100-year floodplain.