WRIGHTSTOWN, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — After nearly 50 years, the Northeast Region of the Wisconsin State Patrol has moved to a more central location.
Responsible for patrolling 10 counties, from Marinette down to Sheboygan, the new regional facility on the Brown-Outagamie County border is officially open.
WSP shifted its Northeast Region operations north from Fond du Lac to Wrightstown. The new post along I-41 is now open to employees, and the facility is a big change compared to the smaller barracks in Fond du Lac that WSP had operated out of since the 1970s.
The move also combined the Fond du Lac office with the Wrightstown weigh station, which operated on the property that now houses the new WSP facility.
“It was needed. Both buildings were outdated, needed many upgrades, so it was a great opportunity to combine the two of them, instead of spending more money building two separate facilities,” said WSP Capt. Luke Newman.
The new building is not only a post for the dozens of WSP troopers that work in the Northeast Region, but it’s also a fresh space for office personnel and dispatchers to work out of.
According to Newman, “There’s a lot more desks to be able to set up there. There’s more room for them. It’s a better working environment for them, as well.”
The weigh station and commercial truck inspection portion of the facility is still under construction. New “weigh-in motion” technology will make operations more efficient, and the indoor inspection bays will keep drivers and inspectors out of the elements.
“It’ll keep traffic moving as a better flow, as they’ll pull off of the interstate to go through that, and then if they can get back on, they’ll go right back onto the interstate. If they’re going in for an inspection, they’ll actually come around to the other side of the building, where they’d be out of traffic and it’s a safe location to do so,” said Newman.
While the building is complete and personnel have moved in, there is still much work to be done. The Wisconsin State Patrol anticipates the facility being fully functional in about one year.
Newman said, “It’ll be a while before the actual weigh station opens up, because the interstate has to be moved over to accommodate that. Once that interstate is moved over, then it will be fully open.”
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