Wisconsin's Foxconn Deal Inspiring Lots of Transit Planning

"With Foxconn’s proposed $10 billion factory campus in southern Racine County poised to reshape southeastern Wisconsin, Milwaukee Alderman Robert Bauman has introduced the idea of a commuter rail line to connect city residents to the estimated 13,000 jobs the company is poised to create," reports Jeramey Jannene.

The new Foxconn facility has already inspired several transportation planning schemes, including a proposal for two new bus routes announced earlier in March by Milwaukee County Board Chairman Theodore Lipscomb, Sr. Another, introduced in February by Bauman, "would leverage the expansion of the Amtrak Hiawatha Service between Chicago and Milwaukee to provide fast service between the city and rural factory campus," according to Jannene. Reports from November 2017 revealed that Foxconn executives pushed for autonomous vehicle lanes in its negotiations with state and regional officials.  

As for Bauman's idea of building a new commuter rain line, the proposal would connect N. 35th St. and W. Capitol Dr. in Milwaukee to Highway 11 in southern Racine County. The proposal would require additional public financing, which could be included in the $4 billion the state has pledged to devote to the Foxconn deal. The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission has already included in a rail line along the proposed alignment in its Vision 2050 plan.