Wisconsin notes

[jwags]

Saw today that the WI-26 exit between Janesville and Milton has an exit number.  I believe it is Harmony Hill Road, and it has a #6 only on the exit signage.  (The BGS hasn't been erected.)

The other exits on the entire route don't have exit numbers so I guess this is something they will add later.  Surprised they didn't do this earlier.

The exits on the Watertown bypass are numbered.

[SEWIGuy]

Ah thank you.  Hadn't noticed that.

[WarrenWallace]

The new interchange at US-14 and Lacy Road (on new alignment) in Fitchburg will be opening this week.  When that interchange opens, the two southern ramps at McCoy Road will be permanently closed.

[mgk920]

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20121106/APC0101/311060158

It will go around the north side of the village.  Construction is expected to begin in 2016, completion in 2019.

WI 15 is a very busy commuter route into and out of the Appleton area and yes, this bypass has been badly needed for many, many years.

Mike

[mgk920]

^^

I made the Roadgeek™ daytrip to the Marshfield area today and found some interesting stuff.



Interchange numbers and MPs are posted on US 10 all the way eastward to, but not including, the interchange where US 10 hops off of the freeway.  No pre-existing BGSs east of the section of the US 10 Marshfield Spur that recently opened have been modified so far, though.

Interchange numbers:

• 186 - WI 13 north/County 'A'/Veteran's Parkway
• 204 - WI 13/34 south
• 208 - WI 34 north
• 213 - I-39 north (Marshfield Interchange)

(Note, US 10 uses I-39's interchange numbers and MPs on the combined section)

• 230 - County 'J'
• 237 - Lake Rd (EB-off/WB-on ONLY)
• 238 - County 'B' west (Amherst west)
• 240 - County 'A'/County 'B' east (Amherst east)
• (246) - (unbuilt) County 'Q'
• 250 - WI 49 north/WI 54 west (Waupaca west)
• 252 - WI 22 south
• 253 - Churchill St
• 254 - WI 22 north/WI 54 east (Waupaca east)
• 260A - WI 110 north/County 'X'
• 260B - County 'F' (WB-off/EB-on ONLY)
• 264 - WI 49 south/WI 110 east (Fremont west)
• 267 - WI 96/WI 110/County 'II' (Fremont east)
• 273 - US 45 north (Dale Interchange)
• 276 - US 45 south (Winchester Interchange)
• 284 - WI 76
• 286 - County 'CB'
• 287A-B - US 41(I-xx) (Bridgeview Interchange)

(Note, as of this posting, WI 441 MPs are still posted east of the Bridgeview Interchange, in addition to the new US 10 MPs.  WI 441 interchanges were never numbered.)

• 289A - County 'P'/Racine St
• 289B - County 'AP'/Midway Rd
• 290 - WI 47/Appleton Rd (Memorial Dr)

As of this posting, the remainder of the WI 441 freeway is not interchange numbered and 290 is the highest posted US 10 MP, located between WI 47 and Midway Rd.

If the WI 441 interchanges were to be numbered, they would be (WI 441 MPs):

• 0 - US 41(I-xx) (Bridgeview Interchange)
• 1 - County 'P'/Racine St
• 2 - County 'AP'/Midway Rd
• 3 - WI 47/Appleton Rd (Memorial Dr)
• 4 - US 10 east/Oneida St
• 7 - County 'KK'/Calumet St
• 8 - County 'CE'/College Ave
• 10 - County 'OO'/Northland Ave
• 11 - US 41(I-xx) (Northeast Interchange)

Also, US 45 between US 10 (Winchester Interchange) and US 41(I-xx) (Algoma Interchange) is not (yet) MPed nor interchange numbered.

Mike

WisDOT just added another interchange number on US 10 within the past couple of days:

• 291 - US 10 East/Oneida St

This is where US 10 hops off of the WI 441 freeway on Appleton's south side.

Mike

[SSOWorld]

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/plan-would-delay-verona-road-interstate-road-work/article_690b4e7c-3642-11e2-9992-0019bb2963f4.html

Now they want to delay the Verona Road, I-39/90 and Zoo Interchange projects because of budget issues

[colinstu]

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/plan-would-delay-verona-road-interstate-road-work/article_690b4e7c-3642-11e2-9992-0019bb2963f4.html

Now they want to delay the Verona Road, I-39/90 and Zoo Interchange projects because of budget issues

Gosh... I hope this doesn't cause problems :S ... at least not the darn zoo interchange. *is biased*

[mgk920]

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/plan-would-delay-verona-road-interstate-road-work/article_690b4e7c-3642-11e2-9992-0019bb2963f4.html

Now they want to delay the Verona Road, I-39/90 and Zoo Interchange projects because of budget issues

Gosh... I hope this doesn't cause problems :S ... at least not the darn zoo interchange. *is biased*

Ditto.

I have been more and more seriously wondering over the past few years if Wisconsin should convert to placing transportation infrastructure on the general fund, abolishing the transportation segregated fund and the fuel tax and instead imposing the regular state sales tax on fuel (fuel is now exempt from the regular retail sales tax in Wisconsin), this on the logic that the level of one's taxable economic activity is very directly proportionate to the utility that he or she derives from the transport network.  IMHO, this would be much more long-term reliable than what we have now.

Yes, I do realize that one or more other state tax rates would have to be increased to make up for the fuel tax loss, perhaps increasing the regular retail sales tax from 5 to 6 percent.  As it stands now, the volume-based fuel tax will fail as a revenue source for funding roads and other transport as inflation charges along.  In fact, right now in some states, to replace their volume-based fuel taxes with their regular retail sales taxes (assuming that fuel is not sales taxed) will be tax rate INCREASES, their fuel tax rates are now so astonishingly low.

Right now in Wisconsin, the state fuel tax is about 10% of the pre-tax pump price.

Mike

[JREwing78]

I wholeheartedly disagree with the idea of tying sales taxes to road funding. It is NOT, as you suggest, a reliable funding source.

Michigan did something similar with school funding with Proposal A, the idea being to cut property taxes and replace that funding with the sales tax. That sales tax worked great in a good economy, and it helped moderate the differences between rich and poor school districts. However, when the economy went to hell, so did school funding. You'd get the same issue with tying a sales tax to fuel taxes.

What needs to happen is to reintroduce the inflation index that was previously in place.

[mgk920]

I wholeheartedly disagree with the idea of tying sales taxes to road funding. It is NOT, as you suggest, a reliable funding source.

Michigan did something similar with school funding with Proposal A, the idea being to cut property taxes and replace that funding with the sales tax. That sales tax worked great in a good economy, and it helped moderate the differences between rich and poor school districts. However, when the economy went to hell, so did school funding. You'd get the same issue with tying a sales tax to fuel taxes.

What needs to happen is to reintroduce the inflation index that was previously in place.

Unfortunately the same people who were constantly howling a few years back about the inflation indexing ("Tax increases that were NEVER voted on!" Etc.) will be back in full force should that be reintroduced.  Instead, my best compromise on that would be to convert to a percentage of the price based fuel tax, this short of putting roads on the general fund (as I was advocating above, NOT tying roads to the sales tax).

Mike

[SEWIGuy]

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/plan-would-delay-verona-road-interstate-road-work/article_690b4e7c-3642-11e2-9992-0019bb2963f4.html

Now they want to delay the Verona Road, I-39/90 and Zoo Interchange projects because of budget issues

Gosh... I hope this doesn't cause problems :S ... at least not the darn zoo interchange. *is biased*

Ditto.

I have been more and more seriously wondering over the past few years if Wisconsin should convert to placing transportation infrastructure on the general fund, abolishing the transportation segregated fund and the fuel tax and instead imposing the regular state sales tax on fuel (fuel is now exempt from the regular retail sales tax in Wisconsin), this on the logic that the level of one's taxable economic activity is very directly proportionate to the utility that he or she derives from the transport network.  IMHO, this would be much more long-term reliable than what we have now.

Yes, I do realize that one or more other state tax rates would have to be increased to make up for the fuel tax loss, perhaps increasing the regular retail sales tax from 5 to 6 percent.  As it stands now, the volume-based fuel tax will fail as a revenue source for funding roads and other transport as inflation charges along.  In fact, right now in some states, to replace their volume-based fuel taxes with their regular retail sales taxes (assuming that fuel is not sales taxed) will be tax rate INCREASES, their fuel tax rates are now so astonishingly low.

Right now in Wisconsin, the state fuel tax is about 10% of the pre-tax pump price.

Mike

Can you clarify if I have the problem right?

That the issue is that that the fuel tax is "volume based," in that it is a tax placed on each gallon of gas sold.  And with rising prices, the volume of gas sold decreases, therefore the revenues earned shrinks.  This problem can be made even more harmful if people drive more fuel efficient cars.

Perhaps the best idea is to have a hybrid.  For instance, have fuel subject to sales tax and designate such taxes to the transportation fund, but then cut the volume based tax by some figure.  Maybe they could also do this and do away with the minimum markup law as a compromise of some sort.

[mgk920]

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/plan-would-delay-verona-road-interstate-road-work/article_690b4e7c-3642-11e2-9992-0019bb2963f4.html

Now they want to delay the Verona Road, I-39/90 and Zoo Interchange projects because of budget issues

Gosh... I hope this doesn't cause problems :S ... at least not the darn zoo interchange. *is biased*

Ditto.

I have been more and more seriously wondering over the past few years if Wisconsin should convert to placing transportation infrastructure on the general fund, abolishing the transportation segregated fund and the fuel tax and instead imposing the regular state sales tax on fuel (fuel is now exempt from the regular retail sales tax in Wisconsin), this on the logic that the level of one's taxable economic activity is very directly proportionate to the utility that he or she derives from the transport network.  IMHO, this would be much more long-term reliable than what we have now.

Yes, I do realize that one or more other state tax rates would have to be increased to make up for the fuel tax loss, perhaps increasing the regular retail sales tax from 5 to 6 percent.  As it stands now, the volume-based fuel tax will fail as a revenue source for funding roads and other transport as inflation charges along.  In fact, right now in some states, to replace their volume-based fuel taxes with their regular retail sales taxes (assuming that fuel is not sales taxed) will be tax rate INCREASES, their fuel tax rates are now so astonishingly low.

Right now in Wisconsin, the state fuel tax is about 10% of the pre-tax pump price.

Mike

Can you clarify if I have the problem right?

That the issue is that that the fuel tax is "volume based," in that it is a tax placed on each gallon of gas sold.  And with rising prices, the volume of gas sold decreases, therefore the revenues earned shrinks.  This problem can be made even more harmful if people drive more fuel efficient cars.

Perhaps the best idea is to have a hybrid.  For instance, have fuel subject to sales tax and designate such taxes to the transportation fund, but then cut the volume based tax by some figure.  Maybe they could also do this and do away with the minimum markup law as a compromise of some sort.

You're pretty close.  The 'volume-based' nature of the tax is that it is a fixed dollar amount on a fixed unit volume of fuel sold.  With inflation, real value of the revenue from the tax available to WisDOT shrinks in proportion to decreases in the real value of the dollar, assuming that the volume of fuel sold remains constant.  If it were percentage-based (like the regular sales tax is), the real value of the revenue would remain much more long-term constant with inflation, with the actual number of dollars available going up or down with changes in the market price of the fuel.

Adjusted for 'real' inflation, the price of fuel today is fairly close to what it was a couple of generations ago, although with the 'volume-based' fuel tax rates, the tax is a far, far lower percentage of the pump price today than it was back then and thus the real value of the money available to the DOTs to do their jobs is much less.

BTW, the volume-based federal fuel tax has not been adjusted in over a generation.

(Note, although I am very much a tax, spending and deficit *HAWK*, transportation infrastructure is one of the few places in government where there is a very strong positive correlation between tax rates and the quality of services rendered - and good transportation infrastructure is one of the top factors of all in having a healthy overall, and especially private-sector, economy.)

Mike

[Fox 11 News]

The Zoo interchange isn't the only one which could be delayed under the proposed DOT budget:
http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/local/fox_cities/highway-441-reconstruction-could-be-on-hold

[mgk920]

The Zoo interchange isn't the only one which could be delayed under the proposed DOT budget:
http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/local/fox_cities/highway-441-reconstruction-could-be-on-hold

Not just 'completing' the Bridgeview Interchange and upgrading US 10/WI 441 from there eastward to Oneida St to six lanes, but also upgrading WI 15 between the Greenville Twp area and US 45 at New London and building its planned bypass of Hortonville.

(I hate it when the legislature starts playing knee-jerk politics with the transport fund....    )

Mike

[JREwing78]

I wholeheartedly disagree with the idea of tying sales taxes to road funding. It is NOT, as you suggest, a reliable funding source.

Michigan did something similar with school funding with Proposal A, the idea being to cut property taxes and replace that funding with the sales tax. That sales tax worked great in a good economy, and it helped moderate the differences between rich and poor school districts. However, when the economy went to hell, so did school funding. You'd get the same issue with tying a sales tax to fuel taxes.

What needs to happen is to reintroduce the inflation index that was previously in place.

Unfortunately the same people who were constantly howling a few years back about the inflation indexing ("Tax increases that were NEVER voted on!" Etc.) will be back in full force should that be reintroduced.

Morons.... Big Oil jerks gas prices around all the time for much more than 6 cents (current difference between current funding and a return to the indexed rate). Nobody ever got a vote on that one.

[DaBigE]

• For all the map collectors out there, the 2013-14 WisDOT Official Highway Map has been released (see bottom of the linked website)
• From this point forward WisDOT will be spec'ing LED street lighting on all state projects. Where fiscally feasible, let projects will have a change-order to install LED fixtures instead of the usual HPS lighting

[SEWIGuy]

• For all the map collectors out there, the 2013-14 WisDOT Official Highway Map has been released (see bottom of the linked website)

Kind of surprised they have both US-10 west of I-39 and WI-26 as "other multilane divided," and not "expressway."  Are there certain standards that WIDOT applies to differentiate between the two?[/list]

[DaBigE]

Kind of surprised they have both US-10 west of I-39 and WI-26 as "other multilane divided," and not "expressway."  Are there certain standards that WIDOT applies to differentiate between the two?

The only thing I can think of is that they reserve "expressway" for more urban/denser developed areas?    Although, that wouldn't fit for Wis 23 between Sheboygan and Plymouth or US 151 between Columbus and Beaver Dam.

Maybe it's based on the spacing/type of at-grade intersections or other access points? Consistency of speed limits?

[Jordanah1]

ya, but why is US45 from US41 to US10 STILL not a solid red line, it is now a FULL FREEWAY it should get the double red line. also US10 from I39 to marshfield should also be a double red line. i can sortof understand WI26 being marked as it is, but it should at least be the single solid red line from south of fort atkinson to south of johnson creek, while being the seperate red lines through fort atkinson, and then resume the solid red line untill north of  watertown. possibly having a dashed 'under construction' line for its southern segment in the milton area. also, what is with the expressway line for US151 justnorth of the beltline, it is 100% freeway there, yet they constantly class it on the map as an expressway?

[mgk920]

The WI 26 Watertown bypass is a full freeway.  Ditto US 12 from I-90/94 to Baraboo.  OTOH, US 18/151 is a surface four lanes from the Beltline to McKee Rd.

Also, about LED streetlights, the lights on two of the major Fox River bridges here in Appleton (Oneida St and Memorial Dr/WI 47) were just changed to LEDs within the past few weeks.

Mike

[JREwing78]

My guess is the mapmaker in charge of editing the map used the wrong line type on the new sections (WI-26, US-10, US-45, et al).

[midwesternroadguy]

Here's a summary of the highways that aren't accurately depicted on the 2013 Official Highway Map:

US 10 (I-39 west to STH 13 south/34 should be shown as a freeway
US 10 (STH 13 south/34 to STH 80) should be shown as an expressway
US 151 (I-39 to County Trunk C/Main Street) should be shown as a freeway
STH 26 (Ft. Atkinson, Jefferson, Watertown bypasses should be shown as freeway, non-bypass sections should be expressways.)
STH 16 (County Trunk P to eastern interchange with STH 67/Oconomowoc Bypass) should be shown as a freeway, and certainly not as a two-lane road.
US 12 (Baraboo to Lake Delton) should be shown as a freeway.
US 45 (US 41 to US 10) should be shown as a freeway.
US 141 (north of Coleman) should be shown as an expressway, since access is partially controlled.

If they can show a short, orphan segment of STH 54 as an expressway between 'Rapids and Plover, they can show STH 26 as one too.

Some of these freeway segments have a stoplight at a terminus (e.g. 16 at 67, US 12 at I-90/94), however the precedent has been set with showing US 53 as freeway north of I-90 from Onalaska (with stoplights at the I-90 interchange)

Otherwise the official highway map does a a great job separating freeways and expressways accurately.  It just seems to take an edition or two to get new highways shown correctly.  (Wasn't that the case with STH 57 from Green Bay to STH 42 near Sturgeon Bay, where it was first shown as just being multilane divided instead of an expressway?)

Most of the updates shown on the map are 2010 and 2011 completions.  The only 2012 completion I could think of, that was depicted, was the Watertown bypass.  Any others?

[DaBigE]

US 151 (I-39 to County Trunk C/Main Street) should be shown as a freeway

CTH C is Reiner Rd (Exit 100). Main St is Exit 101 (not shown on the WisDOT map). While the Main St exit is not shown on the WisDOT map, that is a closer approximation of where the mapping error ends.

[triplemultiplex]

And they still show US 2/53 as a freeway north of their southern junction even though an at-grade intersection completes the turning movements missing from the interchange.

A few years ago I recall there being an MTR thread started by someone affiliated with the WisDOT map looking for errors to correct.  And a lot of mistakes/corrections that were suggested were actually fixed on the next edition. It would be totally awesome for something like that to happen again.  I take personal responsibility for getting them to remove a fake peninsula into Lake Superior from the Duluth/Superior inset.

[Mdcastle]

I guess I'm surprised a new map came out. Last year I tried several places to get a current map and they were several years old and the people seemded to think tehe wouldn't be getting newer ones.