Project Initiation
I-41 Project Outreach Summary
As part of the I-41 Project to improve 23 miles of Interstate between Appleton and De Pere, WisDOT initiated a robust public involvement program to communicate with and gather feedback from stakeholders in the project area.
This summary highlights our major outreach initiatives from 2020 through 2022 and describes how the program affects awareness and acceptance of the I-41 Project.
Our Commitment to Our Community
Scott Ebel
Corridor Project Manager, I-41 Project
Involving the public early and engaging with them often from initial design to final construction is what makes any transportation project successful. The I-41 Project is no exception. Public comments and stakeholder feedback have already influenced many design and construction considerations. We want to hear from you.”
Engagement Overview
Who are Our Stakeholders?
Public Outreach
- Large-scale public involvement meetings
- Meetings with individual property owners
Business Outreach
- Corridor business groups
- Interchange business groups (future)
- Individual businesses
- Community organizations
Government Outreach
- Local, state and federal officials
- Law enforcement
- Emergency services
Agency and Stakeholder Outreach
Inclusive Engagement
WisDOT is committed to transparency and accessibility of I-41 Project information. We worked special considerations into our public engagement activities to encourage participation among all project-area residents.
Our strategies for inclusive engagement:
Presenting online content in accordance with federal accessibility standards
Adding advocacy organizations to our stakeholder outreach database
Supplying printed materials to advocacy agencies for distribution
Providing paper versions of outreach materials upon request
Providing downloadable materials in Hmong, Spanish and English
Including closed captioning on live virtual meetings and recorded content
Hearing from You
WisDOT continually seeks feedback and collects comments about the project, giving people a voice in their transportation systems. The project team documents all communications, responds to feedback, and uses input received to help develop or modify proposed project improvements.
Most Popular Comment Topics
Outreach Toolkit
Project Meetings
The I-41 Project team uses meetings to share information and interact with the public, community and stakeholder groups, businesses, and local and elected officials in the project area.
The chart below shows the total numbers of small- and large-scale outreach meetings.
Enhancing Our Engagement
The I-41 Project team has adopted new ways of interacting with the community. In 2020, WisDOT moved from providing only in-person meetings to also offering live online, on-demand and hybrid meeting attendance.
In-Person Meetings
In-person meetings allow people to speak with project team members, view exhibits and submit comment forms.
Hybrid Meetings
Hybrid meetings allow the public to simultaneously view the same presentation whether attending in person or live online.
Live Online Meetings
We share digital registration links before these meetings, which are held entirely online and streamed live.
On-Demand Video
We offer recordings of public meetings to watch on demand. The meetings have been viewed a combined 3,000 times on YouTube since they aired.
Project Website
WisDOT launched a new, easy-to-browse website for the I-41 Project in July 2022. The website features videos and interactive maps visualizing the planned improvements, the latest project schedule, and information presented at public and business meetings.
Visit WebsiteOur Most Viewed Webpages
The Home, About and News and Events webpages are often the most viewed pages of the I-41 Project website. During our first in-person public involvement meeting in August 2022, we saw a spike in users visiting.
Did You Know?
The I-41 Project outreach program values and prioritizes accessibility and inclusion.
Our digital outreach tools meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, an internationally recognized set of 78 pass-or-fail success criteria for making websites, mobile apps and other digital content accessible to people with disabilities.
Not only can our website be viewed in multiple languages, the UserWay Accessibility Widget in the bottom right-hand corner of our website allows users to select accessibility tools that may be the most helpful to them.
News and Updates
We create informational materials including newsletters, surveys, meeting invitations and updates, and we distribute them via email, U.S. mail and in person at meetings.
1.3K
Number of subscribers who
receive project email updates
receive project email updates
12K
Number of addresses in
our project mailings database
our project mailings database
Social Media
Informing the Public in Real Time
WisDOT uses social media platforms Facebook and Twitter to enhance project visibility and engage a broad audience, which can help expand information reach with shares and reposts.
As we moved further into design, our 2022 What’s Happening on I-41 campaign gave followers a behind-the-scenes look at various aspects of designing an Interstate project.
11K
Followers
3,195
Followers
What's Next?
Major Project Milestones
February 2023
Design plans expected to be 60% complete
Spring 2023
Right of way plat expected to be complete
2024
Project construction scheduled to begin
Project Timeline
The timeline below shows planned timeframes for various project tasks. Our outreach efforts including meetings will continue throughout the duration of the project.
See Detailed Schedule
January 2020
Project Initiation
2020-2021
Environmental Study
WE ARE HERE
2022-2028
Design and Traffic Management
2022-2028
Real Estate
2023-2028
Utilities
2024-2030
Construction!
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January 2020
20xx-20XX
Environmental Study
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03
Design and
Traffic Management
Traffic Management
2022-2028
Real Estate Activities
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2023-2028
Utilities Coordination and Relocation
2024-2030
Project Construction
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Ready to Get Involved?
Did you know you can leave a comment or send a question to the I-41 Project team in less than five minutes?
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How do We Receive Project Comments?
The project team collects comments during virtual and in-person meetings using online and paper comment forms
We also receive comments via email, phone calls and digital forms linked to the project website
We collect the most comments during our live virtual meetings