There is just something strange about this whole dialogue. We are speaking of 715 million dollars no one has or may not have in the foreseeable future.
I think it is like a grand version of the odd plan a while ago to put miles and miles of sidewalks in Janesville. People were completely oblivious to the fact the economy was crumbling while glorious plans were put forward; it seems to be happening again with this grander idea.
Some type of reality is missing in this whole discussion.
This type of philosophy seems to be endemic to Janesville. A social psychologist might accuse us of being collectively delusional.
I guess the saving caveat is that many of the social psychologists up in the "economic Green Zone" in Madison are now subject to being laid off too.
Bob Keith
cooldadiomedia.com

If the DOT were really thinking forward, they would make it 8 lanes from the stateline to Portage. The traffic density is incredibly higher than it was in the 70s and 80s.

Have you noticed that all the most recent bridge rebuilding includes an extra lane worth of deck on the inside? Yep - they'll add the two extra lanes inside and reduce the median. Most likely add a barrier for safety.

I've commuted to Madison for years and thought the same thing... traffic has gotten worse every year, and now with GM closing - I bet a lot more people are going to be driving to Rockford, Madison, etc for a pay check.

extra lane is added in the middle, no less farmland. (i think)

this really should have been done 20 years ago when they re-did I-90 from beloit to lacrosse. i thought it was foolish then to only have 6 lanes from madison to portage.

It's disappointing how the photo makes it look like a barren wasteland. Say goodbye to more prime farmland. But hey, we can make more. Right?!

I personally dont think we need the additional lanes, the only time there is a problem is on Fridays and Sundays in the Summer during Flatlander fair weather

booch, the stretch of I-90/I-39 between the stateline and Madison is nowhere even close to one of the busiest stretches in the country, and it's not even the busiest 4-lane highway in Wisconsin. I-43 north of Milwaukee in Ozaukee County has almost DOUBLE the traffic than the 90/39 stretch from the stateline to Madison.

guess you didnt get the part where it said that better roadways help developement. and developement means JOBS!

Are you kidding me? Do we need more jobs, or a wider interstate? I personally see no problem with the size of the road. Do they realize if they done do anything about the unemployment rate there will be nobody here to drive on that nice new road!

I don't know where people get the idea that tax credits for businesses equal socialism. Eliminating corporate and business taxes is the precise opposite of socialism.
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That said, I was disappointed that Doyle did not put I-90/39 on the list of infrastructure projects he would like to see funded under the Obama stimulus plan. Obviously, though, it wouldn't remotely qualify as "shovel-ready" (i.e. construction within the next six months). Everything from topographic surveys to environmental impact needs to be studied and on file, and it just isn't yet.
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Yes, I-39/90 is congested, and never more so, but I don't think it is hardly the most congested in the country -- there are a LOT of congested highways. Construction has lagged far behind economic activity.
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It's questionable at this point whether dollars invested in highways will pay off in the long run. Some experts believe the demise of the automobile (at least as we know it) is imminent.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is called an investment in infa-structure, unfortunately, something long overdue.

When I saw the picture, I thought it was about where the new GM plant was going be built. I remember being told by Sheridan, that he had a crystal ball and he could see a new GM plant for Janesville. But, I guess that ball was made in China.

Regarding those tax breaks listed at the end of the article, is Forward Janesville saying socialism is OK as long as it benefits corporations? If so, perhaps it's time to take a look at other policies that have helped Europe and Japan do so well, that people have labeled "socialistic," and ignore the fearful, angry folks who start yelling "SOCIALISM!" every time somebody comes up with a new idea.
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Sure, there's a role for personal responsibility. But why can't we blend personal responsibility with a helping hand from government?

biggirl:
"rarely crowded?"
you kidding me?
it's one of the busiest stretches of interstate in the country.
IN THE COUNTRY.

It's so sad that when we obviously need a "new economy," as most economists and others believe, we still keep recycling old plans. We do not need another lane to the interstate; it's rarely crowded, as it is (and I drive it a lot both ways). We need more infrastructure like trains and public transportation to and from local communities. If we had, for example, a train to Madison, we could tap into its educated workforce, and we could also have people, who live here work there. Only by doing more to be part of the technological, biomedical, and environmental economy will we do well. Manufacturing is sadly going oversees, and too many of us are participating in the race to the bottom, bidding for fewer and fewer factories.

Now, of course, we could as a country lobby to have health professionals, including nurses, nurses assistants, and other therapists, paid more. As our population ages we'll need more such people, but a combination of factors, including our meanness, makes this unlikely. We'd rather have private companies that pull out of our local communities when they have tough times, and we'd rather, for whatever reason, have highly paid execs. in health insurance companies and health maintenance organizations than we would have decently paid and decently treated nurses assistants.

I read the headline, and then started the article expecting to find out what steps Forward Janesville was taking to accelerate the project. They want to “form local partnerships”, and are relying heavily on “hope”. This is a worthwhile project, and I wish it would start this summer, and I’m sure Forward Janesville is doing their best with limited resources. But come on Gazette, let’s ground our headlines in a little reality, OK? There is no “pedal to the metal”, no flurry of activity, no private donors throwing big bucks into some intensive lobbying, nobody in Madison making a compelling case to bump this up on the priority list. “Forward Janesville Laments Progress on Project,” would be a more accurate headline for the story you’ve written here.

This is a great example of how the Federal bailout of the economy would, and perhaps should, trickle down to the public. This seems like the right time and place to be very aggressive in attracting this sort investment. And with the recent departure of GM from Janesville, certainly the city is "politically" positioned to receive consideration.

But this is also the right time to look at what is the right investment for the future. Three lanes in each direction is clearly the right investment for now. But, in 20 years, will we be saying - "gosh - what were we thinking? We should have built high-speed train tracks!" Or some other such alternative. It is the future of our region that we are talking about - not the present. We surely want a better version of the present.

And while I would argue that this is a great time to consider the "right" investment as opposed to the "most desired" investment, there really isn't enough time to fully flush out what the right investment might be. To get anywhere close to agreement for a plurality, let alone consensus, would take years.

NEWS BULLETIN: It's already "a virtual bottleneck"!

Okie:
do you think somehow if you are driving up the corridor you will somehow be exempt from a toll booth simply because you are a WI resident?
me thinks the toll booth is impartial.

the chosen one will drop it into the state's laps.
he'll make everything ok.
just like the candy man, the obama man can.

Let the fibs pay for it with a tollbooth in South Beloit.