The Future of US 12 in Wisconsin

[SEWIGuy]

Not a huge believer in rural roundabouts, but that is as good a place as any for one.

[WarrenWallace]

Yup. Kind of like they did at WI-113 and WI-19 just east of Waunakee.
Bing maps still shows the old layout where Google has the current.

[The Ghostbuster]

Another place I'd like to see a rural roundabout is the US 51/STH 22/STH 60 intersection in Arlington: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.3312502,-89.326249,515m/data=!3m1!1e3.

[CtrlAltDel]

They need to resurface it through Walworth county first. Absolute worst road I've driven on.

They do need to rebuild the freeway from Lake Geneva to Elkhorn. That road is atrocious. Not add more lanes but just repave it.

I have to agree with this assessment. The road, at least from WI-50 to Elkhorn, has definitely seen better days. Is there any repaving on the horizon?

Per this document, 2022:
https://wisconsindot.gov/Documents/projects/6yr-hwy-impr/proj-info/sermap.pdf

That is good news. Thanks for finding that.

[jwags]

Another place I'd like to see a rural roundabout is the US 51/STH 22/STH 60 intersection in Arlington: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.3312502,-89.326249,515m/data=!3m1!1e3.

There are actually plans to build one there in 2022. https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/sw/wis22wis60us51/default.aspx

[dvferyance]

Not a huge believer in rural roundabouts, but that is as good a place as any for one.

There is not a place for roundabouts I hate more than on high speed roads. What is the point of having a road made for speed if you have to keep slowing down all the time to go through roundabouts? The roundabout on Hwy 18 in Dodgeville is the biggest pain ever.

[thspfc]

Not a huge believer in rural roundabouts, but that is as good a place as any for one.

There is not a place for roundabouts I hate more than on high speed roads. What is the point of having a road made for speed if you have to keep slowing down all the time to go through roundabouts? The roundabout on Hwy 18 in Dodgeville is the biggest pain ever.

You have to slow down anyways to make the turn at the infamous US-12/WI-20/WI-67 intersection. A roundabout would actually speed up the process. I think it's a fine idea to put one there.

[SEWIGuy]

Not a huge believer in rural roundabouts, but that is as good a place as any for one.

There is not a place for roundabouts I hate more than on high speed roads. What is the point of having a road made for speed if you have to keep slowing down all the time to go through roundabouts? The roundabout on Hwy 18 in Dodgeville is the biggest pain ever.

You have to slow down anyways to make the turn at the infamous US-12/WI-20/WI-67 intersection. A roundabout would actually speed up the process. I think it's a fine idea to put one there.

If you are going through on US-12 it's definitely going to slow the process down. But it will be much safer than the odd angle intersections that exist currently.

[hobsini2]

Another place I'd like to see a rural roundabout is the US 51/STH 22/STH 60 intersection in Arlington: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.3312502,-89.326249,515m/data=!3m1!1e3.

There are actually plans to build one there in 2022. https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/sw/wis22wis60us51/default.aspx

The problem I see is which route 22 or 60 do you prioritize to get the roundabout? I would argue that 22 is the one that should get it because of the amount of traffic that waits to turn south on 51.

[The Ghostbuster]

I had no idea they actually were going to put a roundabout at the US 51/STH 22/STH 60 intersection (and I scan the DOT website frequently). Thanks for pointing that out, jwags.

[dvferyance]

Not a huge believer in rural roundabouts, but that is as good a place as any for one.

There is not a place for roundabouts I hate more than on high speed roads. What is the point of having a road made for speed if you have to keep slowing down all the time to go through roundabouts? The roundabout on Hwy 18 in Dodgeville is the biggest pain ever.

You have to slow down anyways to make the turn at the infamous US-12/WI-20/WI-67 intersection. A roundabout would actually speed up the process. I think it's a fine idea to put one there.

Ok but I am referring to intersections that were once 2 way stops for the cross traffic. Like the one I mentioned earlier on Hwy 18 in Dodgeville. You never had to slow down at all before.

[SEWIGuy]

Not a huge believer in rural roundabouts, but that is as good a place as any for one.

There is not a place for roundabouts I hate more than on high speed roads. What is the point of having a road made for speed if you have to keep slowing down all the time to go through roundabouts? The roundabout on Hwy 18 in Dodgeville is the biggest pain ever.

You have to slow down anyways to make the turn at the infamous US-12/WI-20/WI-67 intersection. A roundabout would actually speed up the process. I think it's a fine idea to put one there.

Ok but I am referring to intersections that were once 2 way stops for the cross traffic. Like the one I mentioned earlier on Hwy 18 in Dodgeville. You never had to slow down at all before.

But that's not really an example of a high speed rural roundabout.

[skluth]

Not a huge believer in rural roundabouts, but that is as good a place as any for one.

There is not a place for roundabouts I hate more than on high speed roads. What is the point of having a road made for speed if you have to keep slowing down all the time to go through roundabouts? The roundabout on Hwy 18 in Dodgeville is the biggest pain ever.

You have to slow down anyways to make the turn at the infamous US-12/WI-20/WI-67 intersection. A roundabout would actually speed up the process. I think it's a fine idea to put one there.

Ok but I am referring to intersections that were once 2 way stops for the cross traffic. Like the one I mentioned earlier on Hwy 18 in Dodgeville. You never had to slow down at all before.

But that's not really an example of a high speed rural roundabout.

I was annoyed by the roundabout at US 10 and WI 57 several years ago. But I didn't mind so much because I was going to Chilton on WI 57 which was formerly a full stop. I imagine US 10 traffic from the Fox Cities to Manitowoc/ Two Rivers weren't too thrilled although Forest Junction has built up some in the years since the roundabout was built so it looks less rural these days.

[SEWIGuy]

Not a huge believer in rural roundabouts, but that is as good a place as any for one.

There is not a place for roundabouts I hate more than on high speed roads. What is the point of having a road made for speed if you have to keep slowing down all the time to go through roundabouts? The roundabout on Hwy 18 in Dodgeville is the biggest pain ever.

You have to slow down anyways to make the turn at the infamous US-12/WI-20/WI-67 intersection. A roundabout would actually speed up the process. I think it's a fine idea to put one there.

Ok but I am referring to intersections that were once 2 way stops for the cross traffic. Like the one I mentioned earlier on Hwy 18 in Dodgeville. You never had to slow down at all before.

But that's not really an example of a high speed rural roundabout.

I was annoyed by the roundabout at US 10 and WI 57 several years ago. But I didn't mind so much because I was going to Chilton on WI 57 which was formerly a full stop. I imagine US 10 traffic from the Fox Cities to Manitowoc/ Two Rivers weren't too thrilled although Forest Junction has built up some in the years since the roundabout was built so it looks less rural these days.

That's a great example of one that works pretty well.  Honestly, dvferyance just doesn't like roundabouts period so he's going to complain regardless.

[peterj920]

I used to drive from Brillion to Appleton and I liked the light better than the roundabout simply because the light was almost always green for US 10 traffic. Wis 57 had to stop as it was red until a vehicle approached. I can see Wis 57 traffic liking the roundabout better since it was almost a guaranteed stop unless there was a car ahead.

Coincidentally both Wis 57 and US 10 have 2 additional roundabouts each to the north and west.

Not a huge believer in rural roundabouts, but that is as good a place as any for one.

There is not a place for roundabouts I hate more than on high speed roads. What is the point of having a road made for speed if you have to keep slowing down all the time to go through roundabouts? The roundabout on Hwy 18 in Dodgeville is the biggest pain ever.

You have to slow down anyways to make the turn at the infamous US-12/WI-20/WI-67 intersection. A roundabout would actually speed up the process. I think it's a fine idea to put one there.

Ok but I am referring to intersections that were once 2 way stops for the cross traffic. Like the one I mentioned earlier on Hwy 18 in Dodgeville. You never had to slow down at all before.

But that's not really an example of a high speed rural roundabout.

I was annoyed by the roundabout at US 10 and WI 57 several years ago. But I didn't mind so much because I was going to Chilton on WI 57 which was formerly a full stop. I imagine US 10 traffic from the Fox Cities to Manitowoc/ Two Rivers weren't too thrilled although Forest Junction has built up some in the years since the roundabout was built so it looks less rural these days.

[skluth]

I used to drive from Brillion to Appleton and I liked the light better than the roundabout simply because the light was almost always green for US 10 traffic. Wis 57 had to stop as it was red until a vehicle approached. I can see Wis 57 traffic liking the roundabout better since it was almost a guaranteed stop unless there was a car ahead.

I didn't know there had been a stop light there. My family used to drive down to Chilton to visit my mom's sister at least monthly in the 60's and early 70's. At first, SB WI 57 traffic came into Forest Junction on Church St, and both WI 57 and US 10 were on the railroad overpass. I think it was late 70's or early 80's when WDOT moved WI 57 north of Forest Junction entirely west of the (now defunct) railroad to directly connect to the road south. WI 57 still had stop signs with US 10 having no stop; it had actually been easier crossing US 10 when you drove into town and only had right turns onto US 10. I'm guessing that's what prompted the light. I left Wisconsin after graduating from UWGB in 1987, so it had been over 25 years since I had passed through there. Both railroads (it was Forest "Junction") and the US 10 viaduct have long since gone.

You can see the old routing of WI 57 on this 1959 Calumet County map.

I hate the long concurrency with WI 32 from De Pere to Kiel, but WDOT seems to like concurrencies more than any state but Georgia. I liked it better when WI 32 ran through Reedsville.

[SEWIGuy]

I think the WI-32 concurrency is about keeping it as a border to border highway considering is designation as the Red Arrow highway.

[thspfc]

I used to drive from Brillion to Appleton and I liked the light better than the roundabout simply because the light was almost always green for US 10 traffic. Wis 57 had to stop as it was red until a vehicle approached. I can see Wis 57 traffic liking the roundabout better since it was almost a guaranteed stop unless there was a car ahead.

I didn't know there had been a stop light there. My family used to drive down to Chilton to visit my mom's sister at least monthly in the 60's and early 70's. At first, SB WI 57 traffic came into Forest Junction on Church St, and both WI 57 and US 10 were on the railroad overpass. I think it was late 70's or early 80's when WDOT moved WI 57 north of Forest Junction entirely west of the (now defunct) railroad to directly connect to the road south. WI 57 still had stop signs with US 10 having no stop; it had actually been easier crossing US 10 when you drove into town and only had right turns onto US 10. I'm guessing that's what prompted the light. I left Wisconsin after graduating from UWGB in 1987, so it had been over 25 years since I had passed through there. Both railroads (it was Forest "Junction") and the US 10 viaduct have long since gone.

You can see the old routing of WI 57 on this 1959 Calumet County map.

I hate the long concurrency with WI 32 from De Pere to Kiel, but WDOT seems to like concurrencies more than any state but Georgia. I liked it better when WI 32 ran through Reedsville.

I would extend US-141 southward along WI-57 and WI-32 into Illinois. That solves the long concurrency. As a result WI-32 and WI-57 are truncated to Green Bay, and the little bits that would remain (current WI-32 from Millhome to Cedar Grove and current WI-57 from River Hills southward) become WI-132 (to reflect the old number and Red Arrow Highway) and WI-257, respectively.

[peterj920]

Wis 32 will always go from border to border since it's the 32nd Division Memorial Highway. It once ended in Sheboygan where Wis 42 ends now while Wis 42 once ended at the Illinois border. The routes were swapped in 1951 when Wis 32 became a memorial highway. That's why there's the long concurrency with US 45 at it's north end. Here's more history linked below:

http://wisconsinhighways.org/listings/WiscHwys30-39.html#STH-032

I used to drive from Brillion to Appleton and I liked the light better than the roundabout simply because the light was almost always green for US 10 traffic. Wis 57 had to stop as it was red until a vehicle approached. I can see Wis 57 traffic liking the roundabout better since it was almost a guaranteed stop unless there was a car ahead.

I didn't know there had been a stop light there. My family used to drive down to Chilton to visit my mom's sister at least monthly in the 60's and early 70's. At first, SB WI 57 traffic came into Forest Junction on Church St, and both WI 57 and US 10 were on the railroad overpass. I think it was late 70's or early 80's when WDOT moved WI 57 north of Forest Junction entirely west of the (now defunct) railroad to directly connect to the road south. WI 57 still had stop signs with US 10 having no stop; it had actually been easier crossing US 10 when you drove into town and only had right turns onto US 10. I'm guessing that's what prompted the light. I left Wisconsin after graduating from UWGB in 1987, so it had been over 25 years since I had passed through there. Both railroads (it was Forest "Junction") and the US 10 viaduct have long since gone.

You can see the old routing of WI 57 on this 1959 Calumet County map.

I hate the long concurrency with WI 32 from De Pere to Kiel, but WDOT seems to like concurrencies more than any state but Georgia. I liked it better when WI 32 ran through Reedsville.

I would extend US-141 southward along WI-57 and WI-32 into Illinois. That solves the long concurrency. As a result WI-32 and WI-57 are truncated to Green Bay, and the little bits that would remain (current WI-32 from Millhome to Cedar Grove and current WI-57 from River Hills southward) become WI-132 (to reflect the old number and Red Arrow Highway) and WI-257, respectively.

[Crash_It]

They need to resurface it through Walworth county first. Absolute worst road I've driven on.

They do need to rebuild the freeway from Lake Geneva to Elkhorn. That road is atrocious. Not add more lanes but just repave it.

I have to agree with this assessment. The road, at least from WI-50 to Elkhorn, has definitely seen better days. Is there any repaving on the horizon?

Per this document, 2022:
https://wisconsindot.gov/Documents/projects/6yr-hwy-impr/proj-info/sermap.pdf

2022? You've gotta be freakin kidding! That road was in really bad shape in Nov 2018 the last time I drove it. That means it must be even worse now. No road in Illinois is deteriorated like that for that many miles, even Indiana repaired a similarly deteriorated stretch of US20 in 2018.

[SEWIGuy]

They need to resurface it through Walworth county first. Absolute worst road I've driven on.

They do need to rebuild the freeway from Lake Geneva to Elkhorn. That road is atrocious. Not add more lanes but just repave it.

I have to agree with this assessment. The road, at least from WI-50 to Elkhorn, has definitely seen better days. Is there any repaving on the horizon?

Per this document, 2022:
https://wisconsindot.gov/Documents/projects/6yr-hwy-impr/proj-info/sermap.pdf

2022? You've gotta be freakin kidding! That road was in really bad shape in Nov 2018 the last time I drove it. That means it must be even worse now. No road in Illinois is deteriorated like that for that many miles, even Indiana repaired a similarly deteriorated stretch of US20 in 2018.

Well when you make the dumb decision to remove the inflation index from the gas tax...

[mgk920]

US 12/WI 20/WI 67 is like WI 76/Outagamie County 'O' just north of Greenville, which was roundabouted about ten years ago.  WI 76 takes a 90 degree turn there.

A couple of other places in the state where I would put 'rural' roundabouts, if they have not been done so, include at WI 13/WI 21 and WI 21/WI 49.  Those are/were both all-way STOP sign controlled.

A few years ago WisDOT also installed one at US 45/WI 96 west of Appleton.

Mike

[jwags]

US 12/WI 20/WI 67 is like WI 76/Outagamie County 'O' just north of Greenville, which was roundabouted about ten years ago.  WI 76 takes a 90 degree turn there.

A couple of other places in the state where I would put 'rural' roundabouts, if they have not been done so, include at WI 13/WI 21 and WI 21/WI 49.  Those are/were both all-way STOP sign controlled.

A few years ago WisDOT also installed one at US 45/WI 96 west of Appleton.

Mike

I think a roundabout could also be used at CTH-A/STH-33 and STH-67/STH-60 in Dodge County. Those intersections are both awful to drive through.

[mgk920]

US 12/WI 20/WI 67 is like WI 76/Outagamie County 'O' just north of Greenville, which was roundabouted about ten years ago.  WI 76 takes a 90 degree turn there.

A couple of other places in the state where I would put 'rural' roundabouts, if they have not been done so, include at WI 13/WI 21 and WI 21/WI 49.  Those are/were both all-way STOP sign controlled.

A few years ago WisDOT also installed one at US 45/WI 96 west of Appleton.

Mike

I think a roundabout could also be used at CTH-A/STH-33 and STH-67/STH-60 in Dodge County. Those intersections are both awful to drive through.

The last time that I drove through the WI 33/Dodge County 'A' intersection, ISTR that the new concrete on County 'A' was set up to rebuild the intersection, perhaps as a roundabout, at a later time.

Mike

[GeekJedi]

Saw this sign goof today. Kinda sums up my feeling about US 12 though!