Business Routes in Wisconsin

[peterj920]

The business routings in Wisconsin are very inconsistent.  The only 2 business routes that are state highways are Bus 51 in Wausau, and Bus 51 in Plover and Whiting.  The state highway designation used to go through Stevens Point but not terminates at the south city limits of Stevens Point.  Meanwhile, in other cities across the state, business routes were removed in the early 2000s in Eau Claire, (bus 12) Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh, Janesville, Plymouth, Tomahawk, and Superior and there may be more that I'm not aware of.  In smaller towns such as Neilsville and Green Lake, business routes remain but are very poorly signed.  Does anyone have any idea why business routes were removed in larger cities for the most part but remained in Stevens Point and Wausau?  Bus 53/29 in the Eau Claire area are up probably because the bypasses are new, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are removed in the future.  Bus 42 remains in Manitowoc, but it runs over state maintained highways, those are the only exceptions to the trends. 

[GeekJedi]

Bus 42/54 in Sturgeon Bay remains well signed as is the new Bus 26 through Milton.

[Big John]

Bus 42/54 in Sturgeon Bay remains well signed\

You mean 42/57?

[SEWIGuy]

I think they are disappearing because they are largely meaningless.  Fort Atkinson's Business WI-26 is a great example.  If you exit on both the north and south ends onto this highway, it dumps you off into a business wasteland.  However the US-12 exit (with no business designation) gets you near the fast food restaurants, gas and the nicest hotel in town.

I think the blue guide signs are a better indicator of services than the business designation is, and most travelers have come to realize this.

[DaBigE]

I think they are disappearing because they are largely meaningless.  Fort Atkinson's Business WI-26 is a great example.  If you exit on both the north and south ends onto this highway, it dumps you off into a business wasteland.  However the US-12 exit (with no business designation) gets you near the fast food restaurants, gas and the nicest hotel in town.

I think the blue guide signs are a better indicator of services than the business designation is, and most travelers have come to realize this.

Sun Prairie's Business US 151 is similar, at least on the north end of it. A good 1/3rd of the route is residential. Other than the downtown (which could be served with alternate directional signage), most of the businesses are clustered at the interchanges at either end of Business 151. Ones that aren't are restaurants or gas stations served by the blue signs. When the city reconstructed a chunk of the route a couple years ago, they never bothered to put the business route signs back in. I can't say I blame them, since one would expect to find at least some businesses on Main Street. WisDOT did reinstall them when they rebuilt the Main St interchange.

[GeekJedi]

Bus 42/54 in Sturgeon Bay remains well signed\

You mean 42/57?

Yep. Senior moment.

[peterj920]

New business routes are signed well, but will the signs fade and fail to be maintained over time in those cities?  Seems like they do in most other cities that have local business routes.  In Tomahawk, the signs weren't touched since the bypass was built  and were in awful shape when that route was removed. Any idea why the Bus 51's in the Stevens Point and Wausau areas continue to be state highways?  The route in the city of Stevens  Point is now in local control but there had been no attempt to turn any of the route in Wausau to local control.  Bus 51 in Wausau is now the only business route in Wisconsin that is a state highway from end to end. 

[SEWIGuy]

My *assumption* always was that WIDOT agreed to do this when the US-51 highway was routed through the area.  Perhaps the locals weren't happy and this was a compromise?

The Bus US-51 section of Stevens Point was turned back to local control right around when WI-66 was extended over the former US-10 and then down to Wisconsin Rapids over a former county highway.  A trade off?

WIDOT used to maintain a Business WI-13 through Marshfield and a Business US-41 through De Pere, but I believe both of those have been turned over too.

[jwags]

WI-16 business used to be very well signed in Watertown until recently. Now you can only find signs for it when you are entering town on WI-19. Coming from the other direction is not signed probably due in part to the new WI-26 bypass they put in along the western side of town. The WI-26 business route through Watertown is well signed however.

[peterj920]

My *assumption* always was that WIDOT agreed to do this when the US-51 highway was routed through the area.  Perhaps the locals weren't happy and this was a compromise?

The Bus US-51 section of Stevens Point was turned back to local control right around when WI-66 was extended over the former US-10 and then down to Wisconsin Rapids over a former county highway.  A trade off?

WIDOT used to maintain a Business WI-13 through Marshfield and a Business US-41 through De Pere, but I believe both of those have been turned over too.

I don't think there was a compromise with Wis 66 being extended over County P because the City of Stevens Point is responsible for maintenance of BUS 51 in Stevens Point, not Portage County.  The stretch south of Stevens Point through Plover and Whiting probably would have been turned over to county control if the state highway designation was removed.  Maybe Portage County objected and Bus 51 remained a state highway, but it's a mystery that I'd like to have solved since it's odd that the state highway designation dead ends right at the Stevens Point city limits.  Bus 13 in Marshfield lasted until it was reconstructed, then it was turned over to local control and the business route removed.  The ramps between I-41 and Ashland Ave in De Pere are still under state control, but it was still called Bus 41 on maps probably because they didn't have a name for the short spur.  All of the business route signs in Green Bay, Appleton, Plymouth, and other cities were removed at the same time around 2004. 

[peterj920]

WI-16 business used to be very well signed in Watertown until recently. Now you can only find signs for it when you are entering town on WI-19. Coming from the other direction is not signed probably due in part to the new WI-26 bypass they put in along the western side of town. The WI-26 business route through Watertown is well signed however.

Bus 16 was probably well signed when it was first designated just like Bus 26 is right now.  What I'm noticing is that after the business routes are initially signed, most local communities do a terrible job of maintaining those signs.  Meanwhile, the state continues to sign the routes at intersections with state highways.  In Neillsville, there is a Bus 10 sign at the west intersection with US 10, along with a reassurance sign.  After that reassurance sign, there isn't another Bus 10 sign that appears. In Green Lake, BUS 23 is very well signed at the junction of  Wis 23.  But in Green Lake itself, there is only one, very old and faded Bus 23 sign in the entire community.  The route takes various turns around the city, and the turn from Mill St to Lawson Dr is the only one that is signed.  Why should WISDOT continue to sign business routes along state highways when the communities fail to maintain signs on the business route?  Green Lake, Neillsville, and other communities should follow the lead of Tomahawk and remove their business routes if they do not want to continue to maintain the signs along the route. 

[triplemultiplex]

There is an interesting example of an ambiguous business route in the unincorporated Taylor County community of Westboro.  WI 13 was moved onto a new alignment out of town some 50-60 years ago and the name of the street that is the former route of WI 13 is "Business Highway 13".  This seems to create confusion for cartographers sometimes because every so often in appears labeled with a shield.  In fact, it looks like Google is doing that at this time.

Another example of a logical business route that has been ghosted is Bus US 8 in Rhinelander which was fully signed for decades after US 8 was built to bypass the city.  But when WI 17 was moved onto it's current alignment east of town in 2004, Bus 8 was removed.  The Lincoln Street portion of the old business route still contains the bulk of the city's commercial strip.

WisDOT does seem to be moving away from business routes with new projects.  The rate of new additions has not matched the rate of new community bypasses where the old route would make a serviceable business route.

[peterj920]

There is an interesting example of an ambiguous business route in the unincorporated Taylor County community of Westboro.  WI 13 was moved onto a new alignment out of town some 50-60 years ago and the name of the street that is the former route of WI 13 is "Business Highway 13".  This seems to create confusion for cartographers sometimes because every so often in appears labeled with a shield.  In fact, it looks like Google is doing that at this time.

Another example of a logical business route that has been ghosted is Bus US 8 in Rhinelander which was fully signed for decades after US 8 was built to bypass the city.  But when WI 17 was moved onto it's current alignment east of town in 2004, Bus 8 was removed.  The Lincoln Street portion of the old business route still contains the bulk of the city's commercial strip.

WisDOT does seem to be moving away from business routes with new projects.  The rate of new additions has not matched the rate of new community bypasses where the old route would make a serviceable business route.

There have been quite a few new business routes added when a bypass is built.  US 41 has 2 new business routes in Oconto and Peshtigo, US 141 has a business route in Pound/Coleman, and the routes along Wis 29 are still well marked, and the new business routes along Wis 26 are freshly signed.  WISDOT rebuilds the roads in these communities, installs the business route signs, and then turns the roads back to local control.  The problem is that once the roads are under local control, the local municipalities poorly maintain the signs along the route, and it looks like many of the older business routes are being removed for that reason.

[GeekJedi]

If I remember correctly, WisDOT will NOT designate a route as a business route unless the city/town asks for it, and agrees to maintain the route and the signs. If they do not maintain the signs/route, then WisDOT will remove the designation.

[peterj920]

If I remember correctly, WisDOT will NOT designate a route as a business route unless the city/town asks for it, and agrees to maintain the route and the signs. If they do not maintain the signs/route, then WisDOT will remove the designation.

When Wis 23 was reconstructed around Green Lake, WISDOT put the business signs up along Wis 23 despite the fact that the business route is the poorest signed business route in the state. 

[The Ghostbuster]

I do not mind business routes. It gives you a chance to travel along the highway's old alignment (to some degree).

[GeekJedi]

When Wis 23 was reconstructed around Green Lake, WISDOT put the business signs up along Wis 23 despite the fact that the business route is the poorest signed business route in the state. 

They'll put them up the first time - it's up to the local government after that.

[US 41]

I'm assuming that business routes are not really a highway maintained by the state, but maintained by the town it goes through. Can a town sign anything as a business route they want or are there standards a business route has to meet?

[peterj920]

When Wis 23 was reconstructed around Green Lake, WISDOT put the business signs up along Wis 23 despite the fact that the business route is the poorest signed business route in the state. 

They'll put them up the first time - it's up to the local government after that.

Along the state highways where the business routes begin and end, WISDOT puts the signs up.  Along Wis 23, WISDOT put up the "Jct Bus 23" signs after the road was reconstructed.  They probably should not have done that since the route isn't signed good at all by Green Lake, and they clearly did not inspect signs along the route.   

[GeekJedi]

I'm assuming that business routes are not really a highway maintained by the state, but maintained by the town it goes through. Can a town sign anything as a business route they want or are there standards a business route has to meet?

Chris Dessert's excellent (though no longer maintained) Wisconsin Highway's site has great information on Wisconsin Business routes:

http://wisconsinhighways.org/indepth/business_specs.html

[kutzy7]

Here are some business routes I am aware of in Wisconsin.

Business 13 in Marshfield (Removed in 2010 after Central Av. Project)
Business 51 in Stevens Point-Plover (Will become local after Post Rd. Project)
Business 51 in Wausau (Kept becuase it connects many businesses and communities in the Wausau area)
Business 29 in Chippewa Falls (Still signed throughout Chippewa Falls)
Business 53 in Eau Claire (Also still signed, more commonly called Hastlings Way)
Business 10 in Neillsville (Signed as CTH-B)
Business 29 in Abbotsford (Another well-maintained route)

[SSOWorld]

I'm assuming that business routes are not really a highway maintained by the state, but maintained by the town it goes through. Can a town sign anything as a business route they want or are there standards a business route has to meet?

Chris Dessert's excellent (though no longer maintained) Wisconsin Highway's site has great information on Wisconsin Business routes:

http://wisconsinhighways.org/indepth/business_specs.html

Bessert.

[Alex]

You resurrected a thread simply to correct a six month old spelling error?  You're an administrator.  Can you simply edit the post?

kutzy7 resurrected the thread one post prior.

[pianocello]

There are several along US-151, at least on BGS's (e. g. Platteville, Mineral Point, Verona, etc.). If WisDOT ceases maintenance of a business route, do they leave the signs up?

[peterj920]

The only two WISDOT business routes are Bus 51 in the Wausau area and Bus 51 between the Stevens Point south limits to I-39/US 51.  Bus 51 within Stevens Point is locally designated.  The rest of the routes are locally designated.  Back in 2004, WISDOT was pressuring communities to decommission their business routes.  Appleton, Green Bay, Oshkosh, and Plymouth all decommissioned their business routes. Even though Bus 42 in Manitowoc runs along state highways, the city of Manitowoc designates it and WISDOT was trying to get Manitowoc to decommission it, but refused, according to wisconsinhighways.org.