Fond du Lac County officials are reacting with shock and anger over a federal court judge’s ruling halting the Highway 23 expansion project between Fond du Lac and Sheboygan. A judge ruled Friday that the Wisconsin Department of Transportation used unsupported, inflated traffic forecasts to justify the project cutting off federal funding for the project. Republican State Senator Rick Gudex of Fond du Lac says the news is disheartening. “This group is I think is very short-sighted and narrow-visioned on the fact that we’ve got huge safety concerns on this stretch of highway,” Gudex told AM 1170 WFDL’s Between the Lines program. “Every death as far as I’m concerned that comes out of this lawsuit is on the people who are claiming the studies weren’t complete and are putting this lawsuit on the backs of the people of Wisconsin.” Gudex says the state DOT is exploring its options. Fond du Lac County Economic Development Corporation president Steve Jenkins says he lives at Highway 23 and K and knows first hand the high volume traffic now, regardless of what the projections say. “There is a point where we start getting ridiculous in my book and start forgetting facts and ignoring facts,” Jenkins told WFDL news. County executive Al Buechel says he takes issue with comments from the director of the group that filed the lawsuit who said the ruling is a win for the taxpayers. “When you consider the land that was needed, the right of way, was already acquired and that engineering was done for a good portion of that project. This has already cost taxpayers a significant amount of money,” Buechel said. Fond du Lac County Highway commissioner Tom Jahnke says Highway 23 is an important corridor not just for Fond du Lac and Sheboygan counties, but the entire state.
