Brown County drivers are about to get a long-awaited new way on and off Interstate 41. Officials held a ribbon-cutting Wednesday for the new I-41 and Southbridge Road interchange near De Pere, which is expected to open to the public next week, FOX 11 (WLUK) reported.
The interchange has been under construction since the summer of 2024. The Southbridge Road ramp has been closed to drivers for the past 30 days, according to the station.
Part of a much bigger job
The interchange is one piece of a larger project to rebuild 23 miles of I-41 from four to six lanes between Highway 96 (Wisconsin Avenue) in Appleton and County F (Scheuring Road) in De Pere. According to a press release from Gov. Tony Evers' office, that I-41 project began in April 2024 and is scheduled to be finished in 2030.
The governor's office says the new interchange includes multi-lane roundabouts and a shared-use path along the north side of Southbridge Road. It connects I-41 to Brown County's South Bridge Connector project, which links De Pere, Ledgeview and Green Bay. Brown County received $50 million in bonding in the 2023-25 state budget to build the connector, according to the release.
Partners in the broader South Bridge Connector effort include Brown County, the city of De Pere and the towns of Ledgeview and Lawrence.
A long time coming
Local leaders pushed for decades for a new highway connection in Brown County and a bridge across the Fox River in De Pere, the governor's office said. In 2019, the state committed to funding and building the Southbridge interchange as part of the I-41 expansion.
In the release, Evers said the connection "will help keep goods moving, strengthen our supply chains, support local businesses, and grow our economy."
"It's one of those good stories frankly and yes it's going to make a difference in safety and making sure we're continuing to do good things around our economy. It's a good day," Evers said at the event, according to FOX 11.
Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach told the station congestion at the Claude Allouez Bridge was a big part of the push. "You will see this area grow right now the town of Lawrence, city of De Pere, both on this side of the river on the other side economic development is taking place," he said.
In the governor's release, Streckenbach called the connector "a project over a half-century in the making."
Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Kristina Boardman said the interchange is "an essential piece of the puzzle" that improves safety and traffic flow from the Fox Cities to Green Bay. De Pere Mayor James Boyd said the community has worked for decades toward a transportation network that better connects communities and opens new opportunities for growth.
What comes next
With the interchange expected to open next week, attention shifts to the rest of the I-41 corridor, where construction continues toward the 2030 finish. Neither FOX 11 nor the governor's office gave a final cost for the interchange or named the contractors who built it.
Why it matters for contractors
The I-41 expansion isn't done. With 23 miles of interstate being rebuilt and widened from four to six lanes through 2030, there should be years of continued work for road builders, bridge crews, concrete and asphalt suppliers, earthwork contractors and traffic control firms along the corridor.
The new interchange also changes how contractors get around the De Pere area. A new way on and off I-41 tied into the South Bridge Connector gives crews, deliveries and equipment another option for moving between De Pere, Ledgeview and Green Bay.
There's also the growth angle. Streckenbach pointed to economic development on both sides of the river in De Pere and Lawrence. New interchanges tend to open up nearby land for homes, commercial buildings and industrial projects, and contractors who work in Brown County should keep an eye on what gets planned near Southbridge Road in the years ahead.