Kohler Co. drives for golf course interchange in the town of Mosel

Daily Reporter (Milwaukee), Feb 6, 2008 by Paul Snyder

The Kohler Co. wants an Interstate 43 interchange in the town of Mosel, and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation could be on board with the plan.

But it's an interchange that could deter large-scale development in the area, and it may only be operational for brief periods in 2010, 2015 and 2020. It also would not be built in preparation of a hotel expansion or construction plans by the Kohler Co.

"But," said Jay Hoekstra, senior staff project manager with the Kohler Co., "it could be a win for the state of Wisconsin as a whole."

The concept for the interchange formed when the Professional Golfers' Association tour went to Whistling Straits Golf Course in Kohler for its championship tournament in 2004. In planning traffic routes for the accompanying heavy congestion, the Kohler Co., WisDOT and the Federal Highway Administration discussed ways to deal with vehicle volume.

"About 60 percent of the traffic came from the south because the real hotel access was in Milwaukee," Hoekstra said. "The ramps really can't handle the traffic volumes during peak traffic times from the south and southwest, so we had some groups coming up from Milwaukee actually going up Highway 57 and then driving out to Kohler as opposed to using the interstates."

The event-only interchange would provide direct access to the golf course, and with PGA stops planned at the course in 2010 and 2015, along with a Ryder Cup tournament planned for 2020, Hoekstra said, Wisconsin has a lot to gain.

The Kohler Co. said the 2004 PGA Championship generated $77 million in revenue for the Wisconsin.

"That's talking tens of millions of dollars each time we have one of the events here," said Robert Wagner, WisDOT's project manager on the proposed interchange. "I'd hate to think that because of some traffic event at one of the upcoming tournaments, Wisconsin would never get to have that again."

Wagner compared the project to interchange work near Lambeau Field and Miller Park. While both stadiums yearly see more heavily attended events, Sheboygan County Chamber of Commerce Director Delores Olsen said it doesn't render Wagner's comparison irrelevant.

"The 2004 PGA Championship," she said, "was the largest sporting event in Wisconsin history."

WisDOT and the Kohler Co. will evenly split a $243,000 study on the feasibility of the interchange as well as final construction costs. Wagner said he couldn't yet estimate how much it the project would cost.

"As a rule of thumb, you usually figure at least $5 million for an interchange," he said. "We think it'll be less than that because it would be event-only."

WisDOT would be in complete control of the interchange and when it can be opened. Even though the Kohler Co. would benefit from the interchange, Hoekstra said he feels better with WisDOT having a stake in, and control over, the project.

"They are the ones with a better mind as to public safety and issues like that," he said.

But the project also begs the question that if increased attention is headed to Wisconsin, and Sheboygan County in particular, in the next 12 years, wouldn't further development and potential road expansion be in the cards for the area anyway?

"It takes awhile," Olsen said, "but this area will see growth. I have talked with representatives from different hotels that are interested in building in the area."

The primary drawback, she said, is that a hotel isn't going to set up shop in an area where it's only going to see heavy business every five years.

She said she also sees the interchange as a potential door to future development by the Kohler Co.

"With as creative as Kohler Co. can be, I wouldn't be surprised," she said. "Fifteen years ago, that course wasn't there. Now it's known worldwide. I can't predict development of course - nobody can - but I wouldn't be surprised."

Hoekstra said the Kohler Co. is not pursuing the interchange with designs on future development. If anything, he said, the interchange would work against it.

"Businesses tend to spring up around interchanges," he said. "But this one would be open so seldom that there'd be no real reason for them to build there."

The public will have its chance hear about the proposed interchange Wednesday night at a public meeting in the Mosel Town Hall.

Even though the multimillion dollar road project would only see limited use, Hoekstra said the lasting benefit to the state would prove to be the payoff.

"You don't often get a private entity willing to step up and fund half of a project like this," he said. "With the revenue this could help bring to Wisconsin, I just think the cost benefits are right there."