Business View Magazine | September 2020

306 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2020 state line has been a bottleneck of truck traffic for distribution activity. It was only two lanes wide and has been expanded to three lanes in certain key areas like Janesville, and up to six lanes in each direction for some small portions of that. It’s a priority for the city because when discussing distribution and attracting industrial projects, they can assure companies that shipping in and out will not be hindered by a lack of freeway lanes. On the downtown front, Price explains, “Our downtown is large and very linear; we have a big section on Main St., a big section on Milwaukee St., and they intersect on the east side of the river. Within that is the other major infrastructure project called ‘Arise.’ It is placemaking in our downtown. With grants through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, we’ve been able to gradually build a town square. Two years ago, we completed the west side – the Great Lawn, the Festival Street, and the Bubbler. This year we’re finishing the east side. Our partners at the local chamber have done an amazing amount of fundraising that paid for the upgrades to the base infrastructure that the city provided. And the owners of Blaine’s Farm & Fleet, Jane and Mick Blaine, are making a donation for the Blaine-Gilbertson Memorial Bridge – a pedestrian bridge in the middle of town that crosses the square. That should all be done at the end of October.” The city felt a need to do something significant in the downtown to create a place that people could embrace that is iconic to Janesville, and to help promote reorientation of the backs of stores to face the river, using the river as an asset rather than a detriment. That transformation has convinced people that downtown is the place to be. And it is starting to spur other investment in the downtown and reinvestment in the historic building stock. Another part of attracting business is having a strong, skilled workforce. The city was working with education partners like Black Hawk