DBE CONTRACTING UPDATE

News for Disadvantaged Business Enterprise firms and stakeholders

May 2009

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Zoo Interchange public hearings scheduled

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is reaching the final phase of the Zoo Interchange Corridor study.

We appreciate all the community input we've received in helping us develop and refine alternatives that meet the needs and expectations of the community and the traveling public. The study team has worked to create plans and designs to safely manage traffic from 70th Street on the east to 124th Street on the west, Lincoln Avenue on the south to Burleigh Street on the north.

The Zoo Interchange is the hub of commerce and travel for the southeastern Wisconsin freeway system. It is the oldest and busiest interchange in the state. The Zoo Interchange carries significantly more traffic than the planners and engineers envisioned in the early 1960s when they were designing the existing interchange. In 1963, when it opened to traffic, the engineers envisioned a future where 115,000 vehicles per day would use the interchange. Today, more than 350,000 vehicles use the interchange each day. During the past decade, numerous state and regional plans have concluded that the Zoo Interchange needs to be rebuilt. The aging, outdated infrastructure can no longer safely handle the volume of traffic that exists today, much less the traffic that is forecasted to use this corridor for years into the future.

WisDOT must plan responsibly for the future of the Zoo Interchange corridor. It is our responsibility to develop sound, carefully studied alternatives for the future of the freeway system. We recognize that we are developing these plans in complicated economic times, but we must continue responsible planning for the safe future of the state's transportation system.

We encourage the community to attend either of two open-house hearings on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to give formal testimony.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009, 2 to 7 p.m.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 4 to 8 p.m.

Both events are at the Tommy Thompson Youth Center at State Fair Park Gate #5, 640 S. 84th St. in West Allis.