PORTAGE — The state Department of Transportation will fund a six-figure study to see if improvements can be made to prevent flooding of the Interstates around Portage.

The study, which could start in the next few weeks, will look at Highway 33 in addition to Interstates 39 and 90-94 and will include how drainage affects all the roads and their interactions with each other.

All of those roads were closed around Portage by the DOT after June rains caused river levels to rise, eroding road bases and flooding portions of the roads.

"We're going to look at things we can do to prevent the Interstate from flooding again," said Todd Matheson, highway operations supervisor for the DOT.

The study, which could cost about $100,000, "could take months," Matheson said.

Kip Schmidtke, who lives on Highway 33 midway between the Interstate 39 and Wisconsin River bridges, welcomed the study but only if it alleviates the flooding that happens not only during torrential rainstorms but every spring when the snow melts.

"There's no sense in doing anything there if they don't fix it right, because it will just happen again," Schmidtke said. "We don't want to go through this again."