$50+ Million For New Waukesha By-Pass: The Road To Sprawlville, Chapter XXVII

Folks living south of the City of Waukesha will finally get their easier north route to I-94.

Thank goodness!

Everyone should have the quickest access to the nearest Interstate, don't you think?

Even in an era of less driving and declining subdivision demand, right?

And wouldn't you know that there's one of those pesky wetlands in the way.

Damn you, panfish!

Planners apparently have a way around the problem, if need be: they can redesign the bypass in a configuration that will approximate the route taken by Oliver Stone's magic bullet in his film "JFK," turning the bypass into something resembling a "Z."

But there shall be a bypass, in part because your town or village or city hasn't really been anointed by the state transportation department until it has provided you, at taxpayer expense, with a bypass.

Heck, even Mineral Point has one - - between the booming metropoli of Dickeyville and Dodgeville, to the tune of $70 million.

You don't see this kind of persistence, or creative routing, when it comes to transit connections in Waukesha County. And elsewhere in the state

When obstacles to transit present themselves, the response is, "well, that's the way it goes."

Or: "how on earth would we pay for that?," a question that is never a problem for the DOT.

All told, for the bypass, we're looking at a boatload of local and state tax expenditures - - and the generous DOT will cough up 75% of the tab - - for new pavement to and through and bypassing Sprawlville.

Credit Waukesha County Exec Dan Vrakas for picking pockets statewide for the project. Earlier proposals had the locals paying more, and Vrakas said "no," until the state, with money from the rest of us said, rolled over.

And all this is taking place in the very heart of Sprawlville, an area known for it anti-government, anti-tax-and-spend attitudes, but also where diverted Lake Michigan water could fuel more development.

In essense, the bypass is a key element in the Waukesha County long-range expansion plan.

Another is Lake Michigan water delivered into and outside the City of Waukesha's current water utility service territory, giving developers more reason to see annexation or hook-ups.

Another piece of the puzzle is the widening of I-93 through the count between the Zoo Interchange to the east and the Jefferson county to the west.

Already on the books, thanks to the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.

All in all, more than a billion dollars of induced sprawl, with public dollars.