Agnesian HealthCare is answering the needs of North Fond du Lac residents with a 12,500-square-foot clinic and pharmacy near the entrance of the Northgate Business Park. The $2.8 million facility opened in October.

ROAD WARRIORS

Fond du Lac County banks on highway expansion

By Rebecca R. Konya

Construction crews won't remove the last orange cone from U.S. Highway 151 until 2007, but communities in Fond du Lac County already have high hopes.

They predict that the road construction project will spur on a host of new developments, from commercial districts to residential subdivisions.

"We expect to see a strong demand for development in the near future," said Wayne Rollin, director of community development for the city of Fond du Lac.

The first leg of the U.S. 151 bypass project, a 3.4-mile stretch that runs from the east side of the city of Fond du Lac to Highway 41, opened in November. The second leg — 4.4 miles of new four-lane roadway between state Highway 23 and U.S. Highway 41 — is scheduled for completion later this year. Paving and landscaping won't wrap up until 2005.

Work continues on a new four-story facility for St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac.

With traffic volumes expected to nearly double in the next 20 years, Mark Klipstein, a project manager for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, said the road expansion was warranted.

"We're seeing higher-than-average accident rates along 151," he explained.

The new bypass should significantly relieve congestion, resulting in safer travel. And with strong transportation systems often appealing to major employers looking to expand, many area communities are preparing for a potential upswing in development.

Waupun is just one community positioning itself for future growth. City Administrator Gary Sheffield said he fully expects development to pick up as the 151 improvements progress, making travel between Fond du Lac and Waupun quicker and safer. The first leg of the bypass, completed in November, runs up to Highway 49, Waupun's main street.

"Waupun started last year to cement relationships with the city of Fond du Lac and Fond du Lac County," said Sheffield. "We're trying to improve intergovern-
mental relations."

Communities aren't the only ones banking on the long-term effects of the new 151 bypass. Area businesses like Adushun Jones, a real estate brokerage firm in the city of Fond du Lac, are hoping the new bypass will increase traffic and boost sales.

The company recently began construction of a new office near the future interchange of 151 and Highway 23. The new complex will bring the firm's real estate business and home-construction company together under one roof.

Located along Waupun's main street, the property also has room for two more buildings. Sales Manager David Washkoviak said his company would like to see similar real estate or construction-type businesses fill the additional retail office space.

"We're thinking the site would accommodate a real estate/construction supercenter," said Washkoviak.

side from road construction, health care has become another bankable commodity in Fond du Lac County.

Last fall, two medical clinics and full-service pharmacies opened little more than 50 feet from each other at the en-trance of the Northgate Business Park in the village of North Fond du Lac.

In a community survey conducted in 1998, residents put health-care facilities at the top of their wish lists, said Community Development Director Mike Tolvstad.

"These are the first pharmacies in the village in 35 years," he said. Before the Agnesian and Aurora clinics opened last fall, residents traveled to neighboring Fond du Lac for their health-care needs.

Agnesian Healthcare also is deep into a multiphase renovation of St. Agnes Hos-pital in Fond du Lac. As part of Phase III, a new four-story building will replace existing hospital facilities. The $49 million addition, expected to open by midyear, features a new entrance, chapel, health-resource center, coffee shop, patient-registration area and expanded emergency and urgent-care service areas. It also will house an intensive-care unit, cardiopulmonary services, cardiac catheterization/vascular lab and other ancillary support services.