Re-imagining the road trip

Transportation, page 3
by becky salmela

With the ideas and proposals submitted by Transport 2020, WisDOT can incorporate those plans into Connections 2030 for the state’s long-term transportation needs, Dalton explains.

KRM Commuter Rail is a line to be built between Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee. The 33-mile route is an extension of Chicago’s METRA commuter rail but provides another option for Wisconsin residents. WisDOT would finance the project once initial studies are completed. Commuters can easily reside in outlying areas and reach Milwaukee and Chicago metro areas quickly, cleanly and efficiently. Initial studies indicate KRM would reduce congestion by 4-12 percent along Interstate 94 from Milwaukee to Kenosha.

Not only does the plan help residents of the Kenosha and Racine areas, but the route is expected to promote development as well. Nearly 150,000 jobs would lie within a half-mile of the route, according to a study by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. The creation of jobs along with improved travel times and commuting ease allows the southeast region to compete with surrounding areas for residents.

As Transport 2020 connects the residents of Dane County and KRM Commuter Rail provides transporation options to residents of southeast Wisconsin, WisDOT seeks to connect Wisconsin with its neighboring Midwest states. To accomplish this, WisDOT is working with the transportation departments of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio.

The Midwest Regional Rail System (MRRS) will provide high-speed passenger rail service from Milwaukee to Madison. The rail system will expand current Amtrak rail and use high-speed trains. With proximity to Chicago, the hub of MRRS, Wisconsinites would benefit from having access to the fastest trains in the proposal as well as being part of the first phase, according WisDOT passenger rail implementation manager Randall Wade. Because all states re-committed to participating in MRRS in September 2005, building the rail lines could begin immediately once financing is allocated, Wade explains, because the environmental assessment is completed and engineering has begun.

The MRRS lines running through Wisconsin will connect Milwaukee to Chicago, Green Bay and Madison, as well as Madison to the Twin Cities. The trains running from Milwaukee to Madison will be the latest technology available, operating at 110 miles per hour. Wisconsin will also benefit from having one of the four airports in the United States linked to an Amtrak rail line, making air travel easy from any location on the rail line to anywhere in the world.

Although these plans are in place with all states on board and many have begun the necessary environmental and engineering to begin building, federal policy-makers must allocate final funding plans. MRRS needs $316 million to build rail lines and purchase trains for the Milwaukee to Madison section, according to Wade. Wisconsion is able to allocate $50 million to begin building, but the rest will need to come from Congress. The states involved in MRRS are lobbying in Congress although expenses like the Gulf states’ cleanup and the war in Iraq have taken precendence this legislative session.

But rail is still a possible option for Wisconsin because it gives people an alternative means of traveling, Wade explains. He adds that it improves individuals’ efficiency by allowing them to do work while traveling, and it fights congestion. Citing a recent announcement that current Amtrak Hiawatha line between Chicago and Milwaukee set 10 on-time records while O’Hare Airport is only 50 percent on time, Wade describes Wisconsin and the Midwest as ideal markets for a passenger rail system.

“Rail works best in small-to-medium markets, cities where airfare is too expensive, but it takes too long to drive,” Wade says. “The whole idea is that travel time is better than auto while the cost is 60 percent less than air.”

The connections planned by the state with initiatives like Connections 2030 will provide Wisconsin with the means to quickly reach all corners of the state and even the entire Midwest. Residents may soon be able to access areas only currently accessible by car. By improving the means to travel quickly, safely and efficiently, Wisconsin will be seen as modern, adding to its appeal as a wonderful place to live.

“This provides good connections between rail, highways and airports,” Wade says. “This country was built on good transportation. The better the transportation system is, the more efficient the economy is.”

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