DE PERE, Wis. — South Bridge Connector Project has been in the works for generations in Brown County. Craig Thompson, WisDOT Secretary, put the project into perspective.

“The year was 1968, LBJ was President of the United States, and the Packers just beat the Raiders in Super Bowl II, and Brown County first put southern bridge into its comprehensive plan,” he said.

The bridge, which would be situated south of De Pere, Wis., would act as a connection between the east and west sides of the Fox River.

What You Need To Know

  • South Bridge Connector Project has been in the works for generations in Brown Co. 

  • Governor Tony Evers will include $50 million for the project in his next budget proposal

  • Republican State Senators Robert Cowles and Andre Jacque both said the effort has bipartisan support and expect the legislator to approve the funding

  • The bridge, which would be situated south of De Pere, Wis., would act as a connection between the east and west sides of the Fox River

County leaders on Tuesday announced Governor Tony Evers will include $50 million for the project in his next budget proposal.

Leaders said they considered to be the largest step forward for the project yet.

Republican State Senators Robert Cowles and Andre Jacque both said the effort has bipartisan support and expect the legislator to approve the funding.

Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach said the funding means the project is finally gaining ground.

“From our standpoint, we are finally getting something that we’ve been waiting for a long time,” Streckenbach said.

Erik Thoren’s business sits just north of Rockland Rd. The northeast Wisconsin man owns and operates District 82 Pinball Arcade on O Keefe Rd. in De Pere, Wis.

Rockland Rd. is part of the proposed site for a southern bridge in the county. He said the bridge would be a game changer for the area because it would allow people to move about the area more freely.

“Yeah, if there was another route, that would be awesome,” he said.

Thoren said he’ll be glad when the bridge gets built. Perhaps, it will bring more people into his arcade.

“We just had our biggest tournament ever this past weekend where we had 150 players from all over the country and a few from other countries show up to play six tournaments over four days,” Thoren said.

County leaders said the entire project will cost roughly $175 million. They said they hope to have the bridge built and open to traffic by 2029.

October 12 Editor's Note: Senator Robert Cowles name has been updated to reflect the correct spelling.