Transportation
"Transportation is the center of our world. It is the glue of our daily lives. When it goes well, we don't see it. When it goes wrong, it negatively colors our day" Robin Chase
Local Roads
-link to Highway Numbering System article Highway 41(Bette Weninger)
-link to General Road History article (Bette Weninger)
-Hwy 60 Reliever Route notes Fall 2016
-link to History of Hwy 41 website
-link to Washington County Historical Aerial Topography (1941 to present)
-Political, Social, Economic effects on Slinger paper (by Nathan Montag)
-Rugby Junction paper (by Katie Garland)
-Aspects of Rail Development in Slinger paper (by Makaila Groves)
-Slinger Advancement Association, Early Schleisingerville story
-Mail delivery by Rail in Hartford link
Don Barse (see link here and also in Working Lives section)
With I-41, which used to be US 41, we have a 2 and a half mile stretch, on any given day we can be asked to respond out there for vehicle disorderly conduct, complaints, 911 calls. In that 2 and half mile stretch, we can probably respond 8 times a day for those types of calls. Not that every time we go out there, the things are still there. Chief of Police, Dean Schmidt
As the business on resorts grew on Big Cedar Lake, the resort owners realized they needed someone to get them here quickly and fast and regularly because that was their livelihood. It was actually owners at a place on the south side of the lake, Cedar Park Hotel , where the Cedar Lake Yacht Club is, who got a small railroad stop near what is now Hwy 41 and Arthur Road. They would come with a livery service (horse and buggy) to pick up their passengers. In fact they had 8 trains stop there a day in the summer to give you an idea of how many people were coming out here in the summer. Barb Johnson, local lake history author
Local Railroads
When I first started driving, Hwy 41 did not have controlled access. All of the intersecting roads like Hwy 33 and 60 crossed right over the highway. It was very very dangerous." Tim Ewing, Washington County Deputy Sheriff
Village roads are unique in that there is an interstate (I-41) and a major state highway (Hwy 60) that go through the Village. Both of these roads carry many vehicles that are just passing through the Village to go from one place to another. They often have no real interest or attachment to the Village. One more unique thing about village roads is state highway 175 runs roughly parallel to I-41. When major accidents happen on I-41 and the road is blocked, a huge amount of traffic is re-routed onto Hwy 175, through the village which becomes a major traffic problem. Dale Schmidt, Washington County Sheriff
"Slinger is kind of (road design) challenged based on our topography. We have a lot of hills and cul de sacs and it’s really difficult. We are not a typical village or city that's laid out in a grid pattern. We are cut off by the railroad, Interstate 41, or wetland areas." Jim Haggerty, Director of Public Works
Public Services
*Jim Haggerty, Slinger Village engineer, discusses village road design
*Dean Schmidt, Slinger Village Police chief, and Dale Schmidt, Washington County Sheriff discuss collaboration on road, law enforcement and roads
*Working Lives of First Responders, by Mallory Wiest, paper
*Village of Slinger website
*Washington County Highway department website
*Washington County Shared Ride program website
*Washington County Express website
*Local Commuting rates (2010 Census)
*DOT Traffic counts
*DOT Accident Mapping
"Roads have gotten a lot busier (since when I started 17 years ago). More trucks on the road. More people on the road. More kids in cars on the road. Pedestrians. More bikes. The transportation industry has gotten busier as our global economy grows. There are more fuel trucks on the road. Eric Scharpf, Truck Driver, E.H. Wolf and Sons
Trucking
EH Wolf and Sons
-official website
-Building Social Capital video
-Fuel to pump video
-Gas delivery changes video
-Working Lives student paper
-Sample Working Lives roles
Hanke Trucking
-official website
-interview notes by student
Krebs Trucking
-official website
(Section under construction, more to come, the firms above were ones that students picked to study in 2016-2017)
"My grandma, Mary Meyer, recalls her mother allowing those who knocked on her door to enjoy a meal inside of her garage during the Great Depression. These men were harmless, and were looking for work. After these men had finished their meals, they would hop aboard the train again to continue to look for work." Student, Grace Schuppie's excerpt from interview with her grandma who grew up on Lawndale Road in Slinger.
Location of where the Cedar Lake Station used to be. This photo was taken just north of Arthur Road (2016).
Slinger used to have a water tower next to the railroad according to Don Barse.
For years, just south of Scenic Drive and west of Hwy 175, a union station depot called Rugby Junction flourished. While the depot is long gone, the railroad remains active in 2016-2017. Often unseen to the public, railroad workers perform routine safety and equipment checks at crossings like this.
Location of where the Cedar Lake Station used to be. This photo was taken just north of Arthur Road (2016).
“The railroads really took advantage of the intermodal. The fact is no single form of transportation can do everything perfectly. You couldn’t run a ship on land and rail on the ocean. Intermodal developed. You’ll see a lot of the trains that go through Slinger have these metal containers on it. Those were a big growth industry because now they can take sealed containers off the ship, load them on flat cars, take them to the cities, un-load them. What predated that was what was called TOFC service, which meant Trailer on Flat Car. This got to be known as piggy back service. You took the trucking companies trailers, loaded them on flat car, took the freight the long distance, and turned around to the truck drivers for local short distance for truckers. Intermodal is a real bright spot in industry.” Don Barse, retired railroad worker
In 1994, freeway access was cut off from a new ramp. Instead of easy access to the restaurant right off the highway, people would now have to turn on highway 60 and go all the way around to Sherman Road to get to our restaurant so we decided to close. Mary Zuern, who owned Schneider's Restaurant with her husband near Sherman Road and Hwy 41
Many companies in 2017 see value in combining transportation options. Hanke Trucking, based in Slinger, uses truck, rail, and barge to meet customer needs and has 6 terminals across the state. (Photos by Chad Mouridian)
Arthur Road used to cross Hwy 41.
"Our location on Hwy 41 had exposure to many people. At the time, there was an exit ramp with a Stuckys restaurant and Sinclair gas station. It was an ideal and logical choice. In the mid-1990s, that all changed. We still have the great exposure to the highway and now it is part of the federal I system but the downside was losing that Sherman Road on/off ramp." Rick Sorenson, Sales Manager, Scenic Traveler RV
Schleisingerville/Slinger depot (photo from History Center of Washington County)
Cedar Lake Station (photo from History Center of Washington County)
We are looking for more stories about the impact of Hwy 41 construction in 1954, Hwy 41 changes, passenger train in Slinger, and people whose ancestors used Cedar Lake Station (just off of present day Arthur Road and behind Freedom RV)
Broader Views and Related Links
-Tesla technology link (April 2017)
-Nvidia and Bosch AI and Driverless cars link
-Piaggio Fast Forward link (mobility of the future?)
-Driverless car market watch
-link to Wisconsin Department of Public Transportation
-link to Wisconsin DOT Railroads and Harbors Map
-link to Wisconsin Amtrak Passenger Train routes
-link to Wisconsin Rail Plan 2030
-link to Wisconsin Railroad Passengers Association
-link to website about Wisconsin Railroads (American-Rails.com)
-link to Wisconsin 2030 (Long Range Multi-modal transportation plan)
-link to Washington County Highway Department
-link to Walkable city article
-link to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article about regional transit and jobs