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Started by mgk920, May 30, 2012, 02:33:31 AM

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SEWIGuy

Even though it is a few miles longer, US-151 to US-41 is about the same time wise as WI-26.  I think WIDOT simply wants to get traffic off that section.


Jordanah1

i figure that is there position, but they should be building and upgrading routes that need it, and not build an alternate route and expect people to go to it, when it is 2 minutes longer, and people already use the WI26 route. WI26 from US151-US41 needs it, at least a super-2 bypass of rosendale with one grade seperation (diamond interchange at WI23 west of rosendale) at this point would be a good start in 5-7 years.
"Oshkosh"- "Oh, you mean like 'Oshkosh BGosh'?"

SEWIGuy

WIDOT isn't going to spend money on duplicate routes when there is a perfectly good alternative available.  This is a good decision IMO.

Jordanah1

im not sure, i think increasing traffic levels in the near future may force their hand, this route is already covered in passing lanes, and could use many more. if you ever go through rosendale during a holiday rush, you may encounter a line of traffic (heavily traveled truck route) half a mile long from the stop light at WI23. people who live here probably dont want to wait an hour to get out of their driveways, and to do their local buisiness. at somepoint, having a major highway routed downtown (near downtown) can hurt a town more than it can help it. and as traffic increases, WISDOT will be forced to make some upgrades (adding more passing lanes, super-2 bypass of rosendale) and if traffic continues to use this route, the increasingly dangerous traffic levels will force heavier upgrades. Oshkosh is also becoming an increasingly more important tourist destination, and having a good network of highways leading to the tourist hub is important.
"Oshkosh"- "Oh, you mean like 'Oshkosh BGosh'?"

SEWIGuy

Quote from: Jordanah1 on August 06, 2012, 02:27:18 PM
im not sure, i think increasing traffic levels in the near future may force their hand, this route is already covered in passing lanes, and could use many more. if you ever go through rosendale during a holiday rush, you may encounter a line of traffic (heavily traveled truck route) half a mile long from the stop light at WI23.


Then those people are idiots.  US-41 to US-151 avoids such lines of traffic.  Honestly, it would be a better use of money to build some sort of short cut from US-151 to US-41 further northeast of the WI-26 interchange.

mgk920

#55
Quote from: SEWIGuy on August 06, 2012, 04:08:36 PM
Quote from: Jordanah1 on August 06, 2012, 02:27:18 PM
im not sure, i think increasing traffic levels in the near future may force their hand, this route is already covered in passing lanes, and could use many more. if you ever go through rosendale during a holiday rush, you may encounter a line of traffic (heavily traveled truck route) half a mile long from the stop light at WI23.


Then those people are idiots.  US-41 to US-151 avoids such lines of traffic.  Honestly, it would be a better use of money to build some sort of short cut from US-151 to US-41 further northeast of the WI-26 interchange.

This is starting to wander into the 'fantasy highways' realm, but many years ago (1980s/1990s) I was playing around with the idea of a new-ROW WI 26 that would diverge from US 41 around that big curve by County 'N', but pretty much any potential routing from there, especially a straight shot one from there to US 151 at that big curve by Lamartine, runs headlong into the Eldorado Marsh.  One would have to swing the roadway so far westward to avoid it (nearly all of the way to Rosendale) that there would be no advantage in building such a cutoff.

:-/

Mike

triplemultiplex

Quote from: Jordanah1 on August 06, 2012, 01:26:20 PM
at least a super-2 bypass of rosendale with one grade seperation (diamond interchange at WI23 west of rosendale) at this point would be a good start in 5-7 years.

And rob Rosendale of half of its revenue generating operation?  They won't stand for that!  That's makes it a good idea.
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

JREwing78

The traffic counts on WIS 26 are clearly in the range to warrant 4-laning, and in fact are HIGHER than US 151 to Fond du Lac, this despite being 4-laned and (presumably) stealing some of the Oshkosh-bound traffic already.

There's a reason: it's 9 miles farther via US 151 to Fond du Lac than via WIS 26. In practice, even with the higher speed limits on US 151 and US 41, that translates to about 5-10 minutes quicker travel via WIS 26 as long as it isn't congested.

It's going to be 4-laned eventually, even if it's not currently a WisDOT priority.

Jordanah1

Quote from: triplemultiplex on August 07, 2012, 06:35:50 PM
Quote from: Jordanah1 on August 06, 2012, 01:26:20 PM
at least a super-2 bypass of rosendale with one grade seperation (diamond interchange at WI23 west of rosendale) at this point would be a good start in 5-7 years.

And rob Rosendale of half of its revenue generating operation?  They won't stand for that!  That's makes it a good idea.
at some point it hurts buisineses more than it help when you have traffic backed up for half a mile, and locals cant even get to the gas station. im not joking about the half mile traffic backups, i have seen northbound backed up to the cemetary, while traveling southbound. its also a major truck route. at this point, even if they built a *stupid* 4lanes on the cheap, like with a shared left turn lane or even just a double yellow line, and kept it as 55MPH, and bypassing rosendale with an interchange. rosendale would still likely be able to enforce the speed trap operation they currently run. much of the corridor is 3lanes already, why not build a passing lane in both directions the whole way?
"Oshkosh"- "Oh, you mean like 'Oshkosh BGosh'?"

agentsteel53

Quote from: Jordanah1 on August 08, 2012, 10:22:55 AM
at some point it hurts buisineses more than it help when you have traffic backed up for half a mile, and locals cant even get to the gas station. im not joking about the half mile traffic backups, i have seen northbound backed up to the cemetary, while traveling southbound. its also a major truck route. at this point, even if they built a *stupid* 4lanes on the cheap, like with a shared left turn lane or even just a double yellow line, and kept it as 55MPH, and bypassing rosendale with an interchange. rosendale would still likely be able to enforce the speed trap operation they currently run. much of the corridor is 3lanes already, why not build a passing lane in both directions the whole way?



your writing reminds me of him.  :pan:
live from sunny San Diego.

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jake@aaroads.com

Takumi

Dang ol' hurts dang ol' business, have traffic backin' up a dang ol' half mile
Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:52:59 AM
Olive Garden must be stopped.  I must stop them.

Don't @ me. Seriously.

hobsini2

In all seriousness guys, both Wis 26 and Wis 23 in Rosendale need a super 2 bypass of the town similar to the Wis 23 bypass of Green Lake, 20 miles west of there. 23 between I-39 and US 41 is a very heavily traveled road that gets worse during the summer months with tourists.
I knew it. I'm surrounded by assholes. Keep firing, assholes! - Dark Helmet (Spaceballs)

qguy

Quote from: hobsini2 on August 08, 2012, 01:17:17 PM
In all seriousness guys...

Sounds a little extreme. Can't we just stay in some seriousness? I mean, why go overboard?

mgk920


tchafe1978

Quote from: mgk920 on August 10, 2012, 11:30:28 AM
http://www.wjfw.com/stories.html?sku=20120809182615

Interesting.  I wonder how the shoulder ones will affect bicycles.

Mike

More details on this project were also posted on the WisDOT website this past week. If a highway with these rumble strips has heavy bicycle traffic, my hope is that they would install wider paved shoulders for bicyclists. I can remember When US 151 was still on its old alignment between Belmont and Platteville (now County XX), it had rumble strips on the shoulders. I remember seeing bicyclists alternate between riding in the traffic lanes and riding on the gravel shoulder, depending on when a car was coming, to avoid riding on the rumble strips. Not very safe if you ask me. County XX was repaved after the four-lane US 151 opened and no longer has the rumble strips, to go along with much less traffic.

http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/opencms/export/nr/modules/news/news_3493.html_786229440.html

mgk920

The US 10 Marshfield Spur is now complete and fully open:

http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/opencms/export/nr/modules/news/news_3539.html_786229440.html

:cheers:

I'll have to check it out on my next day off.

:nod:

Mike

triplemultiplex

Quote from: mgk920 on August 23, 2012, 09:04:40 PM
The US 10 Marshfield Spur is now complete and fully open:

http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/opencms/export/nr/modules/news/news_3539.html_786229440.html

:cheers:

I'll have to check it out on my next day off.


I guess I know which route I'll be traveling to the Northwoods for Labor Day!  My GPS won't know what's going on.  "Why is he barreling through farm fields at 70 mph?"
Although that does mean driving through all those towns on WI 13 between Marshfield and Medford.
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

merrycilantro

My question is, is there something behind WisDOT's US-10 Freeway conversions? Realistically speaking, building a spur to Marshfield...doesn't exactly seem like something that would be top priority, unless WisDOT had other plans. You look at what they've done in the Oshkosh/Appleton area with US45 and US10, how there's now a triangle of freeway where it all used to be 2 lane...don't get me wrong, it's nice as hell, making a formerly 5-6 hour drive Up North now into 3-4. Just sparked some curiosity as to the motives behind it. It would almost seem as though they're thinking 'OK, so we're not going to upgrade Wis29 to interstate standards, but we can sure do that to 10 and run it all the way to I-94'. Were that true, I'd say they should rename US41 from Milwaukee to Oshkosh I-94 (or at least a concurrence) and reroute 94 onto that...in the distant future, I'll say. Granted, I'm saying that having only looked at a WI map for 5 min to look at the feasability of it and I'm at work and can't devote too much time to thought about it. So that is literally just off the top of my head. Comments obviously welcome, just bear previous statement in mind before you rip me to shreds ;)

mgk920

Quote from: merrycilantro on August 27, 2012, 10:48:58 AM
My question is, is there something behind WisDOT's US-10 Freeway conversions? Realistically speaking, building a spur to Marshfield...doesn't exactly seem like something that would be top priority, unless WisDOT had other plans. You look at what they've done in the Oshkosh/Appleton area with US45 and US10, how there's now a triangle of freeway where it all used to be 2 lane...don't get me wrong, it's nice as hell, making a formerly 5-6 hour drive Up North now into 3-4. Just sparked some curiosity as to the motives behind it. It would almost seem as though they're thinking 'OK, so we're not going to upgrade Wis29 to interstate standards, but we can sure do that to 10 and run it all the way to I-94'. Were that true, I'd say they should rename US41 from Milwaukee to Oshkosh I-94 (or at least a concurrence) and reroute 94 onto that...in the distant future, I'll say. Granted, I'm saying that having only looked at a WI map for 5 min to look at the feasability of it and I'm at work and can't devote too much time to thought about it. So that is literally just off the top of my head. Comments obviously welcome, just bear previous statement in mind before you rip me to shreds ;)

You'd be surprised to see how busy US 10 is between US 41 and I-39, as well as the recently upgraded part of US 45 NW of Oshkosh.  In fact, I have a sense that I may well live long enough to see the concurrent US 10/45 section (between the Winchester and Dale interchanges) upgraded to six lanes - it is that busy.

:wow:

Mike

merrycilantro

Oh I don't doubt that for one second. I travel 41 to 45, to 10 to 39 every year I go up north. It's the quickest way to get to that portion of the state. My question was more so the 10 Spur from 39 Westward. I was moreso just wondering if WisDOT had aspirations or something of 10 being 4 lane-freeway'ed all the way to 94...because where do they go frome here, you know? I know it's a backbone route in their plans for the future, I'm just wondering what that all entails, I guess.

Jordanah1

he does bring up some points about the fact that this was all 2 lanes not long ago, US45 north of oshkosh caries only a little more traffic than some other 2lane highways in wisconsin (WIS26 south of oshkosh, WIS21 just west of oshkosh). i would put my money on some sort of diagonal freeway from marshfield to WIS 29 sortof along the WIS 13 corridor, but perhaps more diagonal than that, and an upgrade of that would-be concurent section of WIS29 all the way to I94. call it I96 mabey from I94 to the fox valley including all of WIS441, and US45 can be I396
"Oshkosh"- "Oh, you mean like 'Oshkosh BGosh'?"

on_wisconsin

#71
Quote from: Jordanah1 on August 27, 2012, 11:33:59 AM
He does bring up some points about the fact that this was all 2 lanes not long ago, US͜  45 north of Oshkosh caries only a little more traffic than some other 2͜  lane highways in Wisconsin (WIS͜  26 south of Oshkosh, WIS͜  21 just west of Oshkosh). I would put my money on some sort of diagonal freeway from Marshfield to WIS 29 sort͜  of along the WIS͜  13 corridor, but perhaps more diagonal than that, and an upgrade of that would be concurrent section of WIS͜  29 all the way to I-94. Call it I-96 maybe from I-94 to the Fox Valley including all of WIS͜  441, and US͜  45 can be I-396.
Did some much needed minor copy-editing that had to be done...
I agree, WisDOT, should seriously study some sort of expressway west of Marshfield connecting US 10 and WIS 29 heading in the general direction of the Eau Claire/ Chippewa Valley area. Connecting to I-94 may have its advantages, but connecting the project to an important regional center is a much better use of (limited) funds. IMHO
"Speed does not kill, suddenly becoming stationary... that's what gets you" - Jeremy Clarkson

SEWIGuy

I do think merrycilantro has a good point though.  I have mentioned this before, but I find it odd that WIDOT has upgraded all of these two lane roads, such as WI-26, and there is very little traffic on these roads...but at the same time we have interstates that are clogged at two lanes. 

Don't get me wrong.  I love getting up from Fort Atkinson to Johnson Creek at 70 mph and skipping downtown Jefferson, but there is so little traffic...and then I get on I-94 to Milwaukee and it is generally very full.  I wonder if resources would have been better placed increasing I-94 to three lanes in each direction.


triplemultiplex

I think Wisconsin developed a lot of momentum for building rural expressways/freeways through the 90's and 00's connecting major cities and beefing up heavy tourism routes that all were wanting for more capacity.  Now that those are done, the bar for what needs expanding is lower.  So we get expansions on WI 26, WI 23 and US 10 to Marshfield where they seem like overkill.

I would have prioritized the US 41 expansions in the Fox Cities/Green Bay, metro Milwaukee freeway rebuilds & conversion of existing expressways to freeway over some of these lightly traveled expressways now opening.  I would have had WI 29 up to freeway standards between Shawano and Green Bay by now for sure, for example.
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

mgk920

With the most major impediments out of the way on US 10 between I-39 and I-94 - only one 'slow down' town (Neillsville) left along that way, and it is only a minor slowdown - we'll see if 'word of mouth' on the now faster nature of US 10 starts spreading.

Mike



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