Wisconsin State Route 29 Statement by Martin Weiss

A statement by Martin Weiss, Team Leader, National Systems and Economic Development Team, Office of Interstate and Border Planning, FHWA.

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On August 26 and 27, 2003, I visited the corridor in company with Dennis Leong, one of the authors of the study who is with the Wisconsin DOT.

The visit served three purposes. The first; was to thank the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for their assistance. This assistance resulted in a study that follows FHWA funded methodology and sets the highest standard for a before/after (a.k.a. ex-post) economic development study in terms of comprehensiveness and clarity. The second; was to get a first hand look at the corridor and especially to view any changes that had ensued since the study was completed. The third; was to begin to make some tentative conclusions about the economic impact that the widening, to 4 lanes, of State Route 29 (hence SR 29) has had. This widening has been underway for a number of years and other than the Chippewa bypass (discussed in the study), substantial capacity related transportation improvements in the corridor are not scheduled.

Map in upper right shows the SR 29 corridor running E-W across north central Wisconsin. In the upper left is an expansion of the western portion of that corridor showing that different sections were upgraded between 1993 and 2000 with the Western most sections being upgraded first. At the bottom is an expansion of the eastern portion of that corridor showing that a major section in Shawano county and a shorter section in Marathon county being upgraded in 1998-1999 with other sections upgraded earlier.

Conclusions

First, it is obvious that this part of Wisconsin has more going for it than just the improved highway. The funding by numerous individuals of the Veterans Memorial is indicative of an area with a great deal of community spirit especially considering the relatively low population density.

A memorial stone indicates that much of the funding for the recent improvements was contributed from the general public. Site in near Village of Cadot. August 26, 2003

Memorial to War Veterans in Village of Cadott just off the SR29 exit. This memorial was enhanced in the past two years. The flags that are part of the memorial can be easily seen from SR 29. August 26, 2003

The pavement replacement of the street system of the entire CBD of Boyd, that, like other small towns in this corridor has very wide streets similarly indicative, as is the floral decoration of the streetscape in many of the small towns along the corridor.

As above, about 10 city blocks are undergoing a complete pavement replacement in the Village of Boyd. August 26, 2003

About 10 city blocks are undergoing a complete pavement replacement in the Village of Boyd about 0.5 miles from the SR 29 interchange. This is a substantial investment in the future for such a small town. It is probable that the widening of SR 29 accelerated the decision to have this work done in anticipation of better economic activity. However, it is impossible to quantify how much the acceleration. August 26, 2003

Second, tourism is not a major factor yet in the corridor; however a number of tourism assets are in place and there seems to be some growth in this activity. For example, the Linenkugel brewery complex, the Veterans Memorial (above images) and, the dairy and nearby areas in Abbotsford seem to draw visitors now. No tourism company is now known to advertise bus coach tours or similar events in the SR 29 corridor but it is conceivable this could come about and the improvement of SR 29 certainly makes it more likely.

New pedestrian bridge (foreground) and new visitor center at the Jacob Linenkugel brewery complex in the City of Chippewa Falls. The gift shop at the center does several thousand dollars per day in business (per discussion). People from 4 States had signed the guest book the day before. These facilities were not built as a consequence of the SR 29 widening. However, SR 29 gives tourism a boost by making it easier to link visits to the brewery, the memorial and other attractions. August 26, 2003 Wildlife, natural beauty and local culture are tourism assets in the Abbotsford area near SR 29. August 26, 2003

Hawkeye Dairy in the City of Abbotsford. This business has been in operation since the 1950s and has operated a catalogue store since the 1980s. The expansion of SR 29 made the catalogue operation more efficient. They could not say what effect the expansion had on the retail operation but there were vehicles from MN and ND in the parking lot when this photo was taken. August 26, 2003

Third, several regional destinations, for example, the prison and the hospital, construction of the latter of was not yet begun at the time of the study, probably would have come to the corridor anyway. However, the improvements to SR 29 certainly improve the logistics for both as well as increase the number of potential employees who will find these facilities accessible.

View of the Stanley water tower and north side of the Stanley State penitentiary from east bound SR 29. The penitentiary was not a consequence of the highway expansion, however, logistics for the prison will be more efficient because of the widening of SR 29 and recruiting employees will also be easier. August 27, 2003

“Our Lady of Vision” hospital near the Village of Stanley within a mile of the SR 29 interchange. August 26, 2003

Several promising developments have recently begun. In the town of Curtis (population around 200) a new Dance and Sports Club) had been completed. It had not opened for business yet at the time of this trip. Similarly, a truck stop near the Club has been completed. This business was open for business at the time of the trip. As can be seen in the images, both these developments are visually attractive and evidence of a considerable investment. Based on the square footage and type of business, the total employment at these two businesses will likely be over 50 and may be over 100. Considering the population of Curtis, it seems obvious that employees will have to be recruited from outside this town. This makes the upgraded SR 29 all the more important. It also seems likely that without the upgraded SR 29, the truck stop would not have been developed or, at least would not have been developed for a number of years.

A development with a Dance and Sports Club and Two restaurants expected to open for business in the Village of Curtiss (population 176 according to the sign outside of town) in late 2003 near the SR 29 interchange. August 26, 2003

Near the Dance and Sports Club is a truck stop that has been open since July 2003 near the SR 29 interchange near the Village of Curtiss. August 26, 2003

A similar truck stop was opened near the town of Edgar at about the same time that SR 29 was widened to 4 lanes at this location. A small farmer’s market has also been added to this development in the recent past.

Convenience store, truck stop, gas station and farmer’s market south of South of SR 29 near Village of Edgar. This development was opened during 2000 approximately contemporaneous with the widening of SR 29 at this location.

August 26, 2003

Also, a similar employer has announced a development.

Site of new employer in Village of Marathon City in Marathon County, WI;

August 26, 2003

More substantially, a recent article in the September 15, 2003 Wausau Daily Herald (byline David Paulson) reported on a variety of health care, finance, recreation, manufacturing and other employers coming to the Wausau area and also had this quote,

The full text of the article is available at: http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/wdhlocal/279920022256622.shtml

Fourth, some potential developments are yet to be realized. The most important is the business park near Chippewa Falls. As noted in the caption and also the SR 29 study, development is likely to be relatively low until completion of the Chippewa Falls Bypass. An interesting potential site is in the Village of Edgar. As noted in the SR 29 study, this is the former site of an employer and the Village has been actively marketing the site.

Business park near the City of Chippewa Falls on Seymour Cray Sr. Blvd. An assisted living business was the only new development in the park but the city expects more development once the Chippewa Falls Bypass is completed. August 26, 2003

Site of 70,000 sq ft building that became vacant in 1994 in Village of Edgar, WI. Edgar is using the improvement of State Route 29 (SR 29) to market this building to prospective employers. August 26, 2003

Fifth, a number of other trends exist in this area, not easily depicted by images. One of these is the more efficient operation of the dairy to cheese production process. SR 29 has made both a direct and an indirect contribution to this. The direct contribution comes about by virtue of the greater accessibility provided by a 4 lane SR 29. The indirect contribution comes about because trucking firms have more scheduled stops on the SR 29 corridor (the truck stops provide evidence of that) and thus the dairies have access to more companies willing to take their product to a cheese producer. Finally, there are a growing number of ginseng producers in the corridor. This is likely not substantially linked to the upgrading of SR 29 because the growing of ginseng is dependent on a narrow set of climatic and soil conditions that are not linked to the ease of access.

In summary, the trends discussed in the SR 29 report (which was completed in mid 2002) have continued into mid 2003. However, key elements of economic development success, for example the Chippewa Falls business park, cannot yet be predicted. On behalf of the FHWA, I appreciate the fact that the Wisconsin Department of Transportation is monitoring and documenting this situation.

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ADDENDUM - Wisconsin State Route 29

November 2004

A continuation of the statement by Martin Weiss, Team Leader, National Systems and Economic Development Team, Office of Interstate and Border Planning, FHWA.

On Aug 3-4, 2004, I visited the eastern portion of the corridor in the company of Dennis Leong, who is with Wisconsin DOT.

This report supplements the report based on the visit of August 2003. No changes have been made to the conclusions. However, some additional facts have been added to the story that begun on the western portion of the corridor.

The easternmost part of the corridor is Green Bay. A focal point of Green Bay is Lambeau Field. In the past few years, an atrium and series of monuments and other tourist attractions has been built around the field.

A statue of Vincent Thomas (Vince) Lombardi stands outside the newly built atrium that is affixed to Earl Lewis (Curly) Lambeau field, (also known as the home of the Green Bay Packers). Aug 3, 2004.

Wausau is the center of the corridor.

 

As in the western portion of the corridor, a number of travel related businesses have begun or has moved to locations near SR 29. Many community development and economic development officials consider these types of developments to be outposts of future development. These businesses can establish a commercial presence near, and later develop commercial clusters or business parks with hundreds of employees. The time estimated between the travelrelated business and the business park can be decades, or it can be incremented with small businesses being added every few years in the vicinity of the travel related business.

Gas and Convenience store near a wholesale/retail meat supplier in Howard in Brown County. August 4, 2004.

Auto Services Park in Bonduel in Shawano County. August 4, 2004

A number of business parks have been established in the western portion of the corridor. Local officials consider these employment clusters to be very desirable. Typically the jobs are high paying and the business is low polluting or non-polluting. Also it is not unusual for the infrastructure for the business park (water, sewer, roads, electricity, gas) to precede the employers by five years or more.

Shawano and Bonduel are within 50 miles of Green Bay and Business Parks there may well serve the Green Bay area in some way.

The Bonduel Business Park has a lot of space for employee parking. One of the businesses makes seating and related hardware and furniture for movie theaters. That business is using a building originally built by a business that had to consolidate in another location to meet environmental regulations. August 4, 2004

The Business Park has landscaped and decorated the entrance to this employment area. August 4, 2004

Timberpro located at Engel and Industrial Roads makes specialty silviculture and firefighting equipment. Other timber harvesting relating employers, once associated with Timberpro, are still in the vicinity. This is locatedin the vicinity of the Shawano. Several other businesses have located or relocated in this area near the interchange with SR29. August 4, 2004.

Radco, a division of Tallemate, recently built this production plant. This is locatedin the vicinity of Shawano. August 4, 2004.

Further West in Marathon County and the Western portion of Shawano County, there are both single site employers and some promising business parks. There are also business parks that are just beginning to attract tenants. August 4, 2004

A Site located near Future Wittenberg Business Park. August 4, 2004

IMC Instruments, a business in eastern Marathon County. August 4, 2004.

At the business park in Marathon County, a new building is under construction as of Aug. 4, 2004.

In the background is a building housing a tube bender business. About a dozen new light manufacturing and distribution employers are in this area. The business park is about 170 acres. Over 500,000 sq ft of space is currently being used as of the date of the image. None of these tenants were at this site before 2001. August 4, 2004.