West Waukesha Bypass | Teen Ink

West Waukesha Bypass

April 28, 2015
By John Majewski BRONZE, Waukesha, Wisconsin
John Majewski BRONZE, Waukesha, Wisconsin
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Imagine this. You are in a peaceful neighborhood and every morning at the crack of dawn the morning doves sing to bring the residents to wake. The town is silent until the kids go out to play in the brilliant sun but is drowned in the refreshing breeze of fresh air that seems could at no time depart from your skin. Could you imagine this beautiful place being destroyed by a four laned road? Roads can be responsible for manipulating people to believe that an intersection can get them places faster and are easy to use. While in reality the road is only going to destroy all of the beauty, the birds, and dispose of all the natural silence that would never return to this town. This road will cost more money than waukesha has, it would obliviate all of the wildlife near the bypass and lastly it wouldn't speed up traffic, cause less accidents and certainly wouldn't improve health.

This road will cost tens of millions of dollars that waukesha doesn't possess at the moment. According to a 2013 study published by Waukesha County Environmental Action league titled "West Waukesha Bypass Study" "Tens of MILLIONS of State of Wisconsin residents' tax dollars will be spent to complete the WEST Waukesha Bypass project, a project estimated to run upwards of $62 million - all of which is to be paid by city, county, and state funds." (Fuel Use Act)This is one of the many reasons why waukesha should not place a useless intersection on top of a road that does see higher volumes of traffic at the morning and afternoon rush hours, but the most of the day this is a fairly quiet road, and it could be argued that this road could be mitigated instead of rebuilt.

Remember the part when I talked about the birds? I was dead serious that the road would completely obliterate all of the nature and wild life. Plus it wouldn't just annihilate the life close to the intersection, it would kill and rid of all animals and kill plants for hundreds of feet. This is one of the main problems in a lot of peoples eyes' because it would go through preserved wetlands that we have done such a good job keeping out of harms way. WEAL advocates for clean water and open spaces. If we plan to put this road in, it would drastically increase the pollution where the road lies. WEAL's position on ground transportation maintains a no new roads policy. They aim to preserve and protect Waukesha's rent leaning wetlands. (Fuel use act)

This road was proposed to reduce traffic and get people places faster. Right? Well, a paper called "West Waukesha Bypass Study" proved that this bypass could negatively impact the quality of life of the thousands of people who live along the proposed bypass routes; would change traffic patterns within residential neighborhoods making pedestrian travel more hazardous; would degrade wetlands and environmentally sensitive areas; would increase noise, water, and air pollution, while simultaneously, adversely, and permanently affecting the health and longevity of residents. So one of the main reasons to put this road in is a hoax. Plus we were told it could reduce traffic, however, not so much. With a bigger road, more people on the road means more accidents. Addition to that the police station reports that traffic has actually been reducing when it was proposed that it will raise(West Waukesha Bypass Study).

The reason I take high interest in this is because the I-94 intersection would destroy nice neighborhoods, much like the town in the beginning of the piece. Unfortunately, if they put a road in it would be near my home, it would without mercy, destroy the peace and not just that but massacre beautiful wetlands that are in excellent condition. On top of that, it would cost millions of tax dollars, federal dollars, and the government's money. Even more, it wouldn't even help reduce traffic, people's health, reduce health and it would drive the noise to an insane level. So ask yourself, do you really want to install 64 million dollar, five mile long monstrous road that will destroy nature, peace, quiet, and risk the health of the residents over a road? 

Work Cited:

"West Waukesha Bypass Study." West Waukesha Bypass Study. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.

 

"Fuel Use Act: Final Environmental Impact Statement. Washington, D.C.: Dept., 1979. Web."


The author's comments:

It's about a road.


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