Wisconsin officials have seemed for too long to be at war with this state's rich industrial legacy.

It is as if they live in a fantasy world that imagines this Great Lakes state will somehow become the next Silicon Valley.

But when state officials make policies that aim in the direction of fantasy-island developments rather than taking necessary steps to retain existing industrial jobs and to attract news ones, they undermine Wisconsin's future.

That is what Department of Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi and his aides appear to be doing with their scheming to redevelop the Hoan Bridge/794 corridor in a manner that would decimate roughly two-thirds of the port of Milwaukee.

The port, still one of the largest and most well-situated on the Great Lakes, provides crucial support to our manufacturing base - not only in Milwaukee but all of southeastern Wisconsin, which remains one of the nation's great centers for small and medium-sized factories.

But the port could be seriously undermined as a support for Wisconsin's manufacturing sector if Busalacchi and the Doyle administration get their way.

According to documents obtained through an open records request initiated by Milwaukee County Supervisor Patricia Jursik, Busalacchi's DOT has commissioned - at a cost of $225,000 - a study by the HNTB planning group of strategies for the demolition of the Hoan Bridge and the development of a condo and entertainment complex.

"While new condominiums, a marina and a 'Navy Pier'-like entertainment dock may sound glamorous to some, we should not underestimate the potential loss of two-thirds of our port," says Jursik. "Taking action against our heavy manufacturing base would have a wide impact on both commerce and families. This is a threat of epic proportions against economic development in Wisconsin. Let's instead get on with re-decking the Hoan Bridge, to continue providing seamless ingress and egress for our industrial port and south shore communities."

Jursik's right.

And she is not just standing up for her district and Milwaukee County.

She really is taking a stand in defense of Wisconsin manufacturing - and for the family-supporting jobs that our factories provide.

John Nichols is associate editor of The Capital Times. jnichols@madison.com

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