Route 441 circumvents the city of Appleton, Wisconsin on the eastern side. This route, along with US 41, forms a square-shaped beltway around the city.

Measure	Pre project	Post project	Change	% Change
Personal Income Per Capita	0	31,431	0	N/A
Economic Distress	0.70	0.83	0.13	0.18%
Number of Jobs	14,246	30,856	16,610	1.17%
Business Sales (in $M's)	0	0	0	N/A
Tax Revenue (in $M's)	0	103	0	N/A
Population	65,695	70,087	4,392	0.07%
Property Value (median house value)	0	0	0	N/A
Density (ppl/sq mi)	0	3,356	0	N/A

Measure	Pre project	Post project	Change	% Change
Personal Income Per Capita	31,548	38,761	7,213	0.23%
Economic Distress	0.65	0.70	0.05	0.07%
Number of Jobs	177,782	239,893	62,111	0.35%
Business Sales (in $M's)	0	0	0	N/A
Tax Revenue (in $M's)	0	0	0	N/A
Population	304,849	359,610	54,761	0.18%
Property Value (median house value)	0	139,001	0	N/A
Density (ppl/sq mi)	199.95	257.09	57.14	0.29%

Measure	Pre project	Post project	Change	% Change
Personal Income Per Capita	31,334	38,650	7,316	0.23%
Economic Distress	0.77	0.84	0.07	0.10%
Number of Jobs	2,620,910	3,431,270	810,360	0.31%
Business Sales (in $M's)	0	0	0	N/A
Tax Revenue (in $M's)	0	0	0	N/A
Population	4,777,920	5,374,400	596,480	0.12%
Property Value (median house value)	0	151,787	0	N/A
Density (ppl/sq mi)	83.56	98.96	15.40	0.18%

Measure	Direct	Indirect	Total
Jobs	2,500.00	1,150.00	3,650.00
Income (in $M's)	124.63	57.33	181.96
Output (in $M's)	437.85	201.41	639.26

Appleton, Wisconsin, Route 441 Beltway

1.0 Synopsis

The completion of Route 441 created a beltway around Appleton, Wisconsin. The road was built to relieve traffic on US 41, a major north-south route in Wisconsin. Route 441 diverted traffic from US 41, and opened up access to the eastern part of the city and surrounding towns. The road has spurred development of "big box" retail and several business parks. Traditional industries like paper manufacturing are still present, but the area has also added services such as the new northeast headquarters for Time Warner cable. The bypass has encouraged low-density residential development on the southeastern fringe of Appleton. An estimated 1,500 to 2,000 jobs were created as a result of the project.

2.0 Background

2.1 Location & Transportation Connections

The City of Appleton (pop. 70,000 in 2000 Census) is located in eastern Wisconsin near Lake Winnebago. It is considered the hub of the Fox Cities in Wisconsin, a region of 18 cities and towns along the Fox River with a population over 200,000. The city has no direct access to interstate highways but is located along US 41, which is a major north-south route in the state. This road connects Appleton to Green Bay (30 miles to the north) and to Fond du Lac and Milwaukee (40 and 100 miles to the south, respectively). The city is also served by US 10, which runs west to Eau Claire (280 miles) and to the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, MN (280 miles). Together, US 41 and Route 441 form an effective beltway around Appleton with a circumference of 21 miles.

2.2 Community Character & Project Context

The Fox Cities region is known as "Wisconsin's Shopping Place" primarily due to the presence of the Fox River Mall, the second largest in the state and the busiest with 12 million annual visitors. There has been significant additional retail development recently due to completion of Route 441. The region has recently seen a shift from manufacturing to more service and distribution jobs. Downtown Appleton is a banking and financial center. It also contains a high-ranked, liberal arts college (Lawrence University) and an entertainment district (including the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center). The region has been known for paper product manufacturing, and the largest employer is Appleton Paper.

3.0 Project Description & Motives

The Route 441 Bypass was built with the intention of relieving traffic on US 41 (originally called the "Tri-County Expressway" for serving Outagamie, Calumet and Winnebago counties.) It was the brainchild of Gordon Buboltz, a local business owner in the early 1970's, who convinced the local governments that the highway was necessary. The local governments bought the right-of-way for the highway to enable the project to proceed.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation designed Route 441 in the mid 1980's. Construction began in 1988 and the highway was completed in 1991. The road was built to be an alternative route to US 41, with development potential a secondary factor supporting its construction. There was an existing bridge over Little Lake Butte de Morts built in 1975 (connecting US 10 and US 41) that would eventually connect to Route 441.

4.0 Project Impacts

4.1 Transportation Impacts

4.2 Demographic, Economic & Land Use Impacts

The region (Outagamie, Calumet and Winnebago counties) grew rapidly relative to the state in the 1990's. From 1987 to 2002, the three-county area grew 18% in population and 35% in employment compared to 12% and 30% in the state, respectively. Route 441 was crucial to the growth spurt for this period. It has spurred low density residential development all along the corridor.

At some intersections, development began occurring before Route 441 was built. However, the new road accelerated the process. Route 441 has provided businesses with visibility and enough parking to accommodate workers and customers. This has drawn new "big box" retail along the road including Wal-Mart, Target, and Kohl's. There has been significant industrial development at key intersections, including the Southpointe and Northeast business parks. This development, which serves the local population, has mostly occurred in the past seven to eight years.

The Northeast Business Park had already existed before the road opened but filled more rapidly afterwards. Now 645 of its 660 acres are occupied. This park handles various manufacturers and office tenants such as Gannett Company. The Northeast Business Park has approximately 5,000 jobs (ESRI estimate). The Southpointe Park opened after the road and has only filled 60 of its 330 acres. Recently, Time Warner Cable consolidated their regional operations at Southpointe, investing $18 million in their new site and employing 600 people. Local officials attribute much of the growth at these parks to Route 441. The decrease of congestion has also allowed for downtown Appleton to experience further development. In total, the bypass has accounted for an estimated 1,500 to 2000 jobs along the corridor.

5.0 Non-Transportation Factors

Development along Route 441 was aided by the creation of tax incremental financing districts at both Southpointe and Northeast business parks. The city funded the infrastructure investments at the park.

The region is also well-known for having a high quality of life. There is low crime, low cost of living and a highly educated workforce. In addition to Lawrence University, Fox Valley Technical College offers various training programs from law-enforcement training to truck driving. A pro-active business retention strategy focuses on keeping businesses in the community and helping them expand.

6.0 Resources

6.1 Citations

Economic Impact of Freeway Bypass Routes in Medium Size Cities
http://www.appleton.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appleton,_Wisconsin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin_Highway_441
http://dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/d3/wis441/maps.htm
http://www.wisconsinhighways.org/listings/WiscHwys400-894.html#STH-441
ESRI GIS - 2008 data was used to estimate employment at Southpointe and Northeast Parks

6.2 Interviews

Organizations

Fox Cities Economic Development Partnership

Appleton Community Development

WIDOT

East Central WI Regional Planning District

City of Menasha

Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce

Footnotes

Case Study Developed by Economic Development Research Group, Inc.

Project: Appleton, Wisconsin, Route 441 Beltway

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