Re-imagining the road trip

Re-imagining the road trip
Transportation initiatives aim to connect Wisconsin like never before

Driving from Superior to Kenosha requires 7.5 hours. The trip from La Crosse to Milwaukee is 3.5. Reserve four hours to get from Rhinelander to Janesville.

But imagine instead a high-speed train that zips across the state from city to city, connecting the rural areas to urban centers, easing traffic congestion and shortening driving times. The hours-long trips of today might require only minutes tomorrow.

These are not unattainable goals. Connecting Wisconsin with easy-to-use public transportation is already in the works with projects like Connections 2030, Transport 2020 and the Midwest Regional Rail System. Each of these proposals will make traveling around Wisconsin faster, bringing people together and connecting the state with its neighbors.

“There's a palpable energy and enthusiasm for modern transportation investments to complement things like the Overture Center, the Milwaukee Art Museum and Miller Park that elevate Madison and Milwaukee's national reputations as exciting places to live, work and play,” says Ward Lyles, transportation policy expert for 1000 Friends of Wisconsin. “Rail is not a panacea, but it is one of the important components of an economic development strategy that focuses on building and maintaining a high quality of life that in turn attracts high-quality talent and employers.”

Young professionals see high-speed rail as necessary for improving their quality of life and making Wisconsin that much more appealing. In the latest plans for the future of transportation, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) now includes a multimodal system. According to Douglas Dalton, WisDOT planning section chief, the goal of the system is to improve transportation across the state, providing good highways, airports and railways.

“What we want to do is provide alternative options for transportation throughout the state,” Dalton says. “It’s not just relying on roads and highways to get by.”

WisDOT is completing a proposal for a new transportation system that provides options, supports economic development and protects the environment. Moving to a system that is supported by other means of transportation, including an additional passenger rail, is a move away from the current reliance on roads and highways and toward a system designed around WisDOT’s Connections 2030.

A system to connect the state, like Connections 2030, will provide the long-range blueprint for future travel decisions in Wisconsin through the year 2030. The plan addresses all forms of transportation: highways, local roads, air, water, rail, bicycle, pedestrian and transit. The long-range goal for Connections 2030 is to create an integrated system incorporating all of these individual modes of transport. The project gives policy-makers long-term goals to consider since it has recognized transporation needs through the year 2030.

Wisconsin currently relies on transportation by roads and highways to get across the state. Highway 53 gives travelers access to the northern forests of the state and Lake Superior. Traveling between Milwaukee and Madison is quick on Interstates 90 and 94, which continue on to La Crosse and the Twin Cities. Interstate 43 provides access from the urban area of Milwaukee to Green Bay and Door County. Overall, moving around the state is simple—provided it is by car.

Most rural areas of the state lack alternative means of transportation. For those in rural areas, less-privileged residents or those without driving capabilities, such as the elderly, accessing urban centers for medical care or jobs is impossible. It is difficult to reach smaller cities efficiently and can be hazardous during inclement weather. A recent survey completed by WisDOT found that nearly one-third of residents in the southeast region of Wisconsin do not own a car. By the year 2020, the population of Wisconsinites over the age of 65 will increase by 50 percent.

The state’s reliance on cars is obvious during peak driving times in Milwaukee and Madison. Since 1982, travel has increased by 60 percent on Wisconsin’s state highways while the number of new lanes has increased only 5 percent. Nearly 20 percent of the state’s most important routes are congested and will only become increasingly congested in the next few years. To eliminate congestion, WisDOT would need to use all funding allocated through 2007, leaving nothing for other transporation needs, like repairing bridges and roads.

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