The Village of Pleasant Prairie is supporting Balcan Innovations (Balcan) on a Wisconsin Department of Transportation Economic Assistance, TEA, Grant application to construct a rail spur in LakeView Corporate Park. An in-person public involvement meeting is scheduled from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 2, 2022, at Pleasant Prairie Village Hall Auditorium, 9915 39th Avenue. Balcan representatives will present information and gather public comments on the proposed rail spur project planned for the Balcan property at 7201 108th Street, generally located west of Green Bay Road at 72nd Avenue and 108th Street in LakeView Corporate Park.
The public involvement meeting will be an open house with various exhibits and maps available for review, including a presentation on the rail spur project, a review of alternatives considered, and the proposed schedule. This meeting follows two previous public meetings Pleasant Prairie held on the Balcan Innovations project. The first open meeting was before the Pleasant Prairie Plan Commission on June 14, 2021, and later before the Pleasant Prairie Board of Trustees on August 30, 2021.
Area residents may attend the meeting to provide input and ask questions regarding the proposed project. Representatives from the Village of Pleasant Prairie, Balcan, and Batterman Engineering will be on hand to discuss the project. Anyone that cannot attend the meeting can find additional information on the project
here. Additionally, written comments can be mailed to RH Batterman & Company, Inc., 2857 Bartells Drive, Beloit, WI 53511, or sent by email to
[email protected].
Balcan is investing around $58 million for building and site improvements on the property. The manufacturing facility is currently operational and has plans to scale up to employ 80 employees. Improvements planned for Balcan include the construction of a rail spur to bring materials to the facility and cut down on trucking. The rail spur tracks would ascend from the Union Pacific Railroad mainline, curving towards Balcan and splitting into two paths. Construction of the rail spur could begin in the late spring of 2022.