The impact of highway bypasses on small towns

Abstract

Small towns thrive on the performance of local businesses, and when the economy is doing well other parts of the town start to do well such as population growth and housing values. However, driving through small towns can really slow down travelers passing through. To fix this, highway bypasses were constructed to lead traffic around the town and speed up their travel time. The question asked is, by leading traffic away from the town, how will housing values, businesses and population be affected. The cities of Whitewater, WI and Burlington, WI will be studied from before and after bypass construction. The variable that will be compared are population, housing value, and number of businesses.