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GREEN BAY — Gov. Scott Walker wants to turn U.S. 41 into an interstate, piggybacking off the improvements already under way in northeastern Wisconsin.

The Federal Highway Authority needs to approve the change. Walker said he hoped an environmental study could be completed in a few years and interstate shield signs could be placed along the 142-mile stretch of highway between Green Bay and the Mitchell Interchange in Milwaukee by 2015.

“From my point of view, transportation is not just about transportation. It’s about economic development,” Walker said during a press conference. “This helps attract growth in existing businesses as well as attracting other employers to this region when they can say, ‘Hey, we’re right off of this interstate.’”

The state Department of Transportation will spend the next few years elevating the highway to interstate standards at a cost of between $15 million and $20 million. Improvements include wider shoulders and installing cable guardrails along some medians.

U.S. 41 has been under construction in northeastern Wisconsin since 2009. Work started along a 14-mile stretch in Brown County in 2010 and the total project is expected to cost close to $1.5 billion in federal stimulus when it wraps up in 2017.

U.S. Reps. Tom Petri, R-Fond du Lac, and Reid Ribble, R-De Pere, issued statements in support of the proposal.

While the interstate designation could mean the federal government picks up the tab on road repairs, it might come out of funds already allocated to Wisconsin, said Colleen Harris, planning and operations chief for the state Department of Transportation’s office in Green Bay.

“It may just shift from one pot of money to another,” Harris said.

The current work on 41 is already being completed with interstate

Article source: http://feeds.stateline.org/~r/StatelineorgRss-Transportation/~3/WzrNScPpRR8/Walker-wants-Highway-41-upgraded-interstate