Wisconsin notes

[midwesternroadguy]

The 2019 WisDOT county maps have been released.  There aren't many changes. I only saw the addition of STH 318/ Western Waukesha Bypass as a four lane divided roadway with an interchange with US 18 ( is this accurate?), and the incorporation of the village of Yorkville in Racine County.  What is still missing, after several years, is the incorporation of the village of Somers in Kenosha County, and the misclassification of a number of freeways as non-freeways, including the Madison Beltline.   Is there a contact link for the WisDOT cartographer's office?

[SEWIGuy]

The 2019 WisDOT county maps have been released.  There aren't many changes. I only saw the addition of STH 318/ Western Waukesha Bypass as a four lane divided roadway with an interchange with US 18 ( is this accurate?), and the incorporation of the village of Yorkville in Racine County.  What is still missing, after several years, is the incorporation of the village of Somers in Kenosha County, and the misclassification of a number of freeways as non-freeways, including the Madison Beltline.   Is there a contact link for the WisDOT cartographer's office?

https://wisconsindot.gov/Documents/travel/road/hwy-maps/county-maps/waukesha.pdf

It's been about a year since I have been through there, but there isn't an interchange at US-18/WI-318 that I'm aware of.

That "Temporary US-18" routing is interesting.

[dcharlie]

url="https://wisconsindot.gov/Documents/travel/road/hwy-maps/county-maps/waukesha.pdf"]https://wisconsindot.gov/Documents/travel/road/hwy-maps/county-maps/waukesha.pdf[/url]

It's been about a year since I have been through there, but there isn't an interchange at US-18/WI-318 that I'm aware of.

That "Temporary US-18" routing is interesting.

Poking around, I found this map also:  https://projects.511wi.gov/18moorland/wp-content/uploads/sites/237/Temporary-alternate-USH-18.pdf

[mgk920]

The 2019 WisDOT county maps have been released.  There aren't many changes. I only saw the addition of STH 318/ Western Waukesha Bypass as a four lane divided roadway with an interchange with US 18 ( is this accurate?), and the incorporation of the village of Yorkville in Racine County.  What is still missing, after several years, is the incorporation of the village of Somers in Kenosha County, and the misclassification of a number of freeways as non-freeways, including the Madison Beltline.   Is there a contact link for the WisDOT cartographer's office?

I trust that the border between this 'Yorkville' and Union Grove is going to be adjusted in a somewhat logical manner, correct?

Mike

[SEWIGuy]

url="https://wisconsindot.gov/Documents/travel/road/hwy-maps/county-maps/waukesha.pdf"]https://wisconsindot.gov/Documents/travel/road/hwy-maps/county-maps/waukesha.pdf[/url]

It's been about a year since I have been through there, but there isn't an interchange at US-18/WI-318 that I'm aware of.

That "Temporary US-18" routing is interesting.

Poking around, I found this map also:  https://projects.511wi.gov/18moorland/wp-content/uploads/sites/237/Temporary-alternate-USH-18.pdf

I guess they just want to keep US-18 traffic away from the construction zone.  I'm on record that US-18 should be routed north on WI-318 to I-94 to the Bluemound exit.

The new Waukesha bypass can be an extension of WI-318.

[The Ghostbuster]

The new Waukesha bypass is more likely to be numbered US 18, and 18 will likely follow the existing 59/164 portions of the bypass as well. Will old 18 through the city of Waukesha be turned over to the city as local streets?

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Will old 18 through the city of Waukesha be turned over to the city as local streets?

I thought they already did this, hence the "gap"  and the Temp 18.

[MantyMadTown]

The 2019 WisDOT county maps have been released.  There aren't many changes. I only saw the addition of STH 318/ Western Waukesha Bypass as a four lane divided roadway with an interchange with US 18 ( is this accurate?), and the incorporation of the village of Yorkville in Racine County.  What is still missing, after several years, is the incorporation of the village of Somers in Kenosha County, and the misclassification of a number of freeways as non-freeways, including the Madison Beltline.   Is there a contact link for the WisDOT cartographer's office?

Those county maps look horrifying in a cartographic sense. The text looks like it was just plopped on there with no regards to size, placement, or any sense of foreground and background. And what's up with Comic Sans for the exit numbers? Couldn't they have used a different font for them? I also can't tell some of the communities apart because some of the neighboring ones are the same color. The red and green highway lines are a menace to anybody who's red-green colorblind, and even if you're not, the green lines are still rather hard to look at.

Those maps are a cartographer's nightmare. After all these years of making maps, I'm surprised WISDOT hasn't hired someone better to make them.

[Mrt90]

The 2019 WisDOT county maps have been released.  There aren't many changes. I only saw the addition of STH 318/ Western Waukesha Bypass as a four lane divided roadway with an interchange with US 18 ( is this accurate?), and the incorporation of the village of Yorkville in Racine County.  What is still missing, after several years, is the incorporation of the village of Somers in Kenosha County, and the misclassification of a number of freeways as non-freeways, including the Madison Beltline.   Is there a contact link for the WisDOT cartographer's office?

I trust that the border between this 'Yorkville' and Union Grove is going to be adjusted in a somewhat logical manner, correct?

Mike

I think the answer is maybe. It sounds like Union Grove and Yorkville have an agreement (or at least a verbal understanding) that Union Grove might be able to annex certain areas whose needs will best be served by Union Grove.  But it appears at the current time that the previous Union Grove border was set and the new village of Yorkville surrounds Union Grove for the most part.  I think UG and Yorkville may already share some services, like I think they have a common fire department?

I found it interesting that Yorkville was allowed to incorporate the entire town as a village even though the entire town didn't meet the population density criteria.  When Somers and Bristol (both in Kenosha County) incorporated within the past few years, only certain areas were allowed to become part of the new village for now, so that there is now both a town and a village of Bristol and Somers.  Over time it will all become part of the new villages (or part of the city of Kenosha where previous boundary agreements were already in place) but right now the towns of Bristol and Somers still exist along with the new villages.

[mgk920]

The 2019 WisDOT county maps have been released.  There aren’t many changes. I only saw the addition of STH 318/ Western Waukesha Bypass as a four lane divided roadway with an interchange with US 18 ( is this accurate?), and the incorporation of the village of Yorkville in Racine County.  What is still missing, after several years, is the incorporation of the village of Somers in Kenosha County, and the misclassification of a number of freeways as non-freeways, including the Madison Beltline.   Is there a contact link for the WisDOT cartographer’s office?

I trust that the border between this 'Yorkville' and Union Grove is going to be adjusted in a somewhat logical manner, correct?

Mike

I think the answer is maybe. It sounds like Union Grove and Yorkville have an agreement (or at least a verbal understanding) that Union Grove might be able to annex certain areas whose needs will best be served by Union Grove.  But it appears at the current time that the previous Union Grove border was set and the new village of Yorkville surrounds Union Grove for the most part.  I think UG and Yorkville may already share some services, like I think they have a common fire department?

I found it interesting that Yorkville was allowed to incorporate the entire town as a village even though the entire town didn't meet the population density criteria.  When Somers and Bristol (both in Kenosha County) incorporated within the past few years, only certain areas were allowed to become part of the new village for now, so that there is now both a town and a village of Bristol and Somers.  Over time it will all become part of the new villages (or part of the city of Kenosha where previous boundary agreements were already in place) but right now the towns of Bristol and Somers still exist along with the new villages.

Bristol took in the entire township.  Bristol first incorporated a small 'logical' part of itself and then that new 'village' quickly annexed the remainder of the township (this has been a common tactic statewide over the past couple of decades and must be addressed by the legislature) while Somers has an agreement with Kenosha to transfer all of the irregular the bits and scraps along their mutual border (those bits and scraps are the remaining township) to Kenosha in order to seriously straighten out that line.

Mike

[SEWIGuy]

So if you were in the legislature, how would you address this?

[I-39]

Is WisDOT still planning to straighten the s-curve on US 12 by the Badger ammunition plant this year?

[Mrt90]

The 2019 WisDOT county maps have been released.  There aren't many changes. I only saw the addition of STH 318/ Western Waukesha Bypass as a four lane divided roadway with an interchange with US 18 ( is this accurate?), and the incorporation of the village of Yorkville in Racine County.  What is still missing, after several years, is the incorporation of the village of Somers in Kenosha County, and the misclassification of a number of freeways as non-freeways, including the Madison Beltline.   Is there a contact link for the WisDOT cartographer's office?

I trust that the border between this 'Yorkville' and Union Grove is going to be adjusted in a somewhat logical manner, correct?

Mike

I think the answer is maybe. It sounds like Union Grove and Yorkville have an agreement (or at least a verbal understanding) that Union Grove might be able to annex certain areas whose needs will best be served by Union Grove.  But it appears at the current time that the previous Union Grove border was set and the new village of Yorkville surrounds Union Grove for the most part.  I think UG and Yorkville may already share some services, like I think they have a common fire department?

I found it interesting that Yorkville was allowed to incorporate the entire town as a village even though the entire town didn't meet the population density criteria.  When Somers and Bristol (both in Kenosha County) incorporated within the past few years, only certain areas were allowed to become part of the new village for now, so that there is now both a town and a village of Bristol and Somers.  Over time it will all become part of the new villages (or part of the city of Kenosha where previous boundary agreements were already in place) but right now the towns of Bristol and Somers still exist along with the new villages.

Bristol took in the entire township.  Bristol first incorporated a small 'logical' part of itself and then that new 'village' quickly annexed the remainder of the township (this has been a common tactic statewide over the past couple of decades and must be addressed by the legislature) while Somers has an agreement with Kenosha to transfer all of the irregular the bits and scraps along their mutual border (those bits and scraps are the remaining township) to Kenosha in order to seriously straighten out that line.

Mike

I didn't realize the Town of Bristol was already completely absorbed by the village but you are right.  Part of the town was incorporated as a village on December 1, 2009 and the Village of Bristol voted to annex the entire town on June 29, 2010, so the entire town became part of the village on July 4, 2010.

[The Ghostbuster]

I hope they release the 2019-20 state highway map soon. I have each edition dating back to 1987 (including a raggedy state highway map from 1983 that I got from my stepsister).

[mgk920]

So if you were in the legislature, how would you address this?

Several things, such as setting the shared revenue formula to strongly favor munis that cover larger percentages of their urbanized areas than ones that cover lower percentages, combine their governments with other munis (must include the 'legacy' munis), etc.  Also give existing incorporated munis a much greater say in whether or not adjacent and nearby townships incorporate, require that iron-clad boundary agreements with all of the neighbors be in place before incorporations are allowed to proceed, require that boundary agreements 'run with the land' and not with the specific munis (a BIG problem here in the Fox Valley - ie, the agreement was with the defunct township and not the newly incorporated village of the same name, thus the new township village is 'not a party to the agreement', etc), and so forth.

I would also make it much easier for landowners to transfer properties from newer incorporated munis to older adjacent ones, perhaps in the same manner as with unchallengeable unanimous annexations from townships to cities and villages, 'unlandlocking' the older legacy munis and helping to further the cause of economic development (making this a matter of statewide concern).

There are many other things that could also be done here.

Mike

[mgk920]

Bristol took in the entire township.  Bristol first incorporated a small 'logical' part of itself and then that new 'village' quickly annexed the remainder of the township (this has been a common tactic statewide over the past couple of decades and must be addressed by the legislature) while Somers has an agreement with Kenosha to transfer all of the irregular the bits and scraps along their mutual border (those bits and scraps are the remaining township) to Kenosha in order to seriously straighten out that line.

Mike

I didn't realize the Town of Bristol was already completely absorbed by the village but you are right.  Part of the town was incorporated as a village on December 1, 2009 and the Village of Bristol voted to annex the entire town on June 29, 2010, so the entire town became part of the village on July 4, 2010.

Yea, that part of Bristol that surrounds the part of Kenosha that is along WI 50 west of I-41/94 needs a major boundary adjustment to make better sense of that area.

Mike

[merrycilantro]

Big news released this past week in terms of 23 between FDL and Plymouth, they supposedly are starting construction on it the end of May (at least that's what I heard). 1000 Friends declined to file a complaint. Here's to hoping it won't be a mess like 151 is around FDL.

[MantyMadTown]

Big news released this past week in terms of 23 between FDL and Plymouth, they supposedly are starting construction on it the end of May (at least that's what I heard). 1000 Friends declined to file a complaint. Here's to hoping it won't be a mess like 151 is around FDL.

Good thing there isn't too much to mess up on 23 between Plymouth and FDL. But I really do hate 151 around FDL. Remember my earlier post about how WISDOT decided to mess up the exits on the bypass?

[mgk920]

Big news released this past week in terms of 23 between FDL and Plymouth, they supposedly are starting construction on it the end of May (at least that's what I heard). 1000 Friends declined to file a complaint. Here's to hoping it won't be a mess like 151 is around FDL.

Good thing there isn't too much to mess up on 23 between Plymouth and FDL. But I really do hate 151 around FDL. Remember my earlier post about how WISDOT decided to mess up the exits on the bypass?

And the sad thing is that back when they were holding design hearings on that bypass, several of us in here and in other forvms of the time, myself included, pretty much warned WisDOT that it would be a FUBAR as it laid out.



Mike

[mgk920]

Bristol took in the entire township.  Bristol first incorporated a small 'logical' part of itself and then that new 'village' quickly annexed the remainder of the township (this has been a common tactic statewide over the past couple of decades and must be addressed by the legislature) while Somers has an agreement with Kenosha to transfer all of the irregular the bits and scraps along their mutual border (those bits and scraps are the remaining township) to Kenosha in order to seriously straighten out that line.

Mike

I didn't realize the Town of Bristol was already completely absorbed by the village but you are right.  Part of the town was incorporated as a village on December 1, 2009 and the Village of Bristol voted to annex the entire town on June 29, 2010, so the entire town became part of the village on July 4, 2010.

Yea, that part of Bristol that surrounds the part of Kenosha that is along WI 50 west of I-41/94 needs a major boundary adjustment to make better sense of that area.

Mike

One note here, this past Tuesday (2019-04-02), Raymond Township (Racine County) voted to become a village.  This is the area along the west side of I-41/94 in the north half of Racine County, the full 36 section township north of Yorkville and south of Franklin.  The 7 Mile Fair and that massive auto auction yard are in it.

IMHO, this was likely needed due to the amounts of development that are expected in the area surrounding the FoxConn campus site and unlike with Yorkville, I consider this one to be inconsequential in that there are no 'legacy' incorporated munis anywhere near it.

Mike

[merrycilantro]

I know along the way between Plymouth and Sheboygan they put in a bunch of Michigan Lefts (I think I'm using the correct term?) rather than interchanges/overpasses. I'm not sure if they're doing anything with the "improvements" east of Plymouth, at one point they were talking about doing an interchange/overpass at TT. Anyway, hopefully it finally takes off and more importantly, lessens the frequency of crashes.

[thspfc]

What are WISDOT's plans for WI-23 between FDL and Sheboygan? Is there any chance that the FDL-Plymouth part will be widened? It's a busy highway, sure, but I don't want to see it widened because it's such a beautiful drive. They shouldn't cut into the rolling prairie.

[SEWIGuy]

What are WISDOT's plans for WI-23 between FDL and Sheboygan? Is there any chance that the FDL-Plymouth part will be widened? It's a busy highway, sure, but I don't want to see it widened because it's such a beautiful drive. They shouldn't cut into the rolling prairie.

It will be expanded to a four lane expressway between Fond du Lac and where the current freeway ends in Plymouth starting this summer.

https://projects.511wi.gov/wis23resurface/full-project-overview/

[thspfc]

What are WISDOT's plans for WI-23 between FDL and Sheboygan? Is there any chance that the FDL-Plymouth part will be widened? It's a busy highway, sure, but I don't want to see it widened because it's such a beautiful drive. They shouldn't cut into the rolling prairie.

It will be expanded to a four lane expressway between Fond du Lac and where the current freeway ends in Plymouth starting this summer.

https://projects.511wi.gov/wis23resurface/full-project-overview/

To improve safety, primarily? There are busier 2 lane roads that aren't expressways.

[mgk920]

What are WISDOT's plans for WI-23 between FDL and Sheboygan? Is there any chance that the FDL-Plymouth part will be widened? It's a busy highway, sure, but I don't want to see it widened because it's such a beautiful drive. They shouldn't cut into the rolling prairie.

It will be expanded to a four lane expressway between Fond du Lac and where the current freeway ends in Plymouth starting this summer.

https://projects.511wi.gov/wis23resurface/full-project-overview/

To improve safety, primarily? There are busier 2 lane roads that aren't expressways.

WI 23 has been a seriously dangerous highway for many years.  WisDOT was just able to get around that federal court order within the past year and the Madison-based enviros who got that court order stopping upgrade construction in place over a decade ago were nowhere to be found this time around.  It has always been a very popular project among the locals.

Construction should be under way within the next few weeks.



Mike