WIS 26 corridor EIS south segment preferred alternative

WIS 26 corridor

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WIS 26 corridor EIS - Selection of preferred alternative, South segment

The south segment begins at the I-90 interchange at Janesville and ends at the south Fort Atkinson Bypass interchange. This segment is about 13.6 miles in length, and includes the city of Milton.

The preferred alternative is S3, the near east Milton bypass corridor. Selection was based on local community input, public comment, agency coordination, engineering analysis and environmental investigations.

Map of preferred alternative

A near east Milton bypass alternative is preferred as it provides transportation and other benefits that an alignment through the eastern part of Milton does not provide, including:

The preferred easterly route is a more direct north-south route with fewer curves. In particular, it eliminates the need for an S-curve alignment between the two Milton interchanges that were necessary under the other alternative.
The preferred route is 0.6-miles shorter. Accordingly, it takes about 30 acres less total land, and 22 acres less farmland, than the other alternative.
The preferred route impacts two less farm parcels than the other route, and has a lesser overall farmland impact as the route does not sever farm fields on a diagonal leaving more difficult pie-shaped remnants for farming operations.
The preferred route adjacent to the Storrs Lake Wildlife Area acts as a buffer between urban development and the wildlife area. Existing and future development will be contained entirely west of the roadway, and open space/hunting grounds (Storrs Lake Wildlife Area) east of the roadway. The other alternative allows development to occur east and west of the roadway with limited access across the roadway.
The preferred route is similar to a corridor placed on Milton's official map in the 1970's in anticipation of a possible future bypass need for Milton. While the corridor was removed from the official map in the 1990's due to a request to create a rural subdivision next to the Storrs Lake Wildlife Area, much of the land within the corridor remained undeveloped. At this time, 45 out of a potential 52 lots in the subdivision are vacant.
The preferred route requires 17 relocations as compared to 51 for the other alternative. While 40 of the 51 relocations are residential tenants in five 8-unit apartment buildings, the real estate acquisition and relocation costs for both alternatives are about the same.
The preferred route has a total construction and real estate cost that is approximately $3 million less than the other alternative. It is expected to have less future maintenance costs due to its more direct north-south routing, shorter overall length, and fewer bridges.

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