The Kenosha County Board approved the footprint for a wider “K-R” Tuesday night.
The 14 to 7 vote means that several dozen residents on the Kenosha County side of the highway that divides Kenosha and Racine counties will lose acres of land when the highway expands from two to four lanes.
The Racine County Board is expected to vote next month.
Terry Rose was among those supervisors who felt that widening the road from two to four lanes was essential for economic development on the northeast side of the county, and that it would eventually result in lower property taxes and higher incomes. He compared the project to the construction of Highway 165 on the south side of the county that opened up land for development in Pleasant Prairie.
Supervisor Michael Skalitzky, who voted with the minority, sympathized with the property owners who are directly affected. "I do respect their plight," Skalitzky said. "They've never said they're against this road. They're against the size of it," he said.
Supervisor Dennis Elverman said sending the project back to the drawing board just wasn't in the cards, given the press of new developments in the area, including Foxconn. He said economic assistance from the state to expand the highway is available now, and the county has to respond.
Tuesday night's vote dealt with phase two of the project: The part of the highway between “H” and Old Green Bay Road. The first phase—a six-lane job between I-94 and “H”—is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
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