Wisconsin 2015 Official Highway Map is online

[midwesternroadguy]

The Wisconsin 2015 Official Highway Map is online.  City map insets are not updated however, and neither are the detailed county highway maps.

Some changes from the 2013 version that I quickly noted:

I-41 has been demarcated

STH 26 is shown as being freeway from south of Milton to north of Jefferson.  However, I thought that the stretch between the Milton bypass and Ft. Atkinson has at-grade intersections.

STH 26 is shown as multilane divided from STH 16 to County Trunk J north of Watertown.  Does this divided highway not extend to the reconstructed interchange with the rerouted STH 60?

US 51 shown as multilane divided beyond County Trunk V north of DeForest.  This is freeway north of STH 19 however.

US 10 is now correctly depicted as freeway to the western interchange with STH 34 and beyond.

(However, US 45 still shown as multilane divided between US/I-41 and US 10 instead of as freeway.
US 141 not shown as expressway from County Trunk M to STH 64, only as multilane divided.) 

[Brandon]

It's also at the rest areas.  Got mine last week.

[oscar]

I picked up a copy of the 2013-2014 edition, which made its way to Saturday's Baltimore road meet.

The back cover shows the smiling faces of Gov. Walker and his family, in a Harley shop. Is there something like that in the current edition (the online version shows only the other side of the map)? Has that been standard practice for Wisconsin governors, or did it begin only when Gov. Walker started thinking about running for President?

[on_wisconsin]

Link?

[Big John]

Link?

http://www.dot.state.wi.us/travel/maps/docs/statemap.pdf
warning 21 MB PDF

[Lyon Wonder]

IMO, that stretch of WI-26 between I-39/90 and I-94 has the potential to be upgraded to full interstate standards and become I-239 or I-490.

[skluth]

I picked up a copy of the 2013-2014 edition, which made its way to Saturday's Baltimore road meet.

The back cover shows the smiling faces of Gov. Walker and his family, in a Harley shop. Is there something like that in the current edition (the online version shows only the other side of the map)? Has that been standard practice for Wisconsin governors, or did it begin only when Gov. Walker started thinking about running for President?

It's been 30 years since I lived in Wisconsin but the governor traditionally has been featured on the back cover. HD being a Wisconsin business is good politics. I don't ever recall the family being on the map, but I don't consider it a big deal. I'm an independent who leans left and I consider it a nonissue.

[DaBigE]

I picked up a copy of the 2013-2014 edition, which made its way to Saturday's Baltimore road meet.

The back cover shows the smiling faces of Gov. Walker and his family, in a Harley shop. Is there something like that in the current edition (the online version shows only the other side of the map)? Has that been standard practice for Wisconsin governors, or did it begin only when Gov. Walker started thinking about running for President?

It's been 30 years since I lived in Wisconsin but the governor traditionally has been featured on the back cover. HD being a Wisconsin business is good politics. I don't ever recall the family being on the map, but I don't consider it a big deal. I'm an independent who leans left and I consider it a nonissue.

Yes, some form of the current governor's mug has been on the back of the Wisconsin roadmap for as long as I can remember. IIRC, former Governor Doyle was shown inside Camp Randall Stadium posed with his wife.

[SEWIGuy]

IMO, that stretch of WI-26 between I-39/90 and I-94 has the potential to be upgraded to full interstate standards and become I-239 or I-490.

Decades away.  There are lights and at-grade intersections near the connections with both interstates, and the cost it would take to make them free flowing would be extremely prohibitive.

[triplemultiplex]

Yeah, a lot of states do that with the governor.  The folksier the photo, the better, it seems.

STH 26 is shown as being freeway from south of Milton to north of Jefferson.  However, I thought that the stretch between the Milton bypass and Ft. Atkinson has at-grade intersections.

I think they're all RIRO's, but I'd agree that doesn't count as "freeway".

STH 26 is shown as multilane divided from STH 16 to County Trunk J north of Watertown.  Does this divided highway not extend to the reconstructed interchange with the rerouted STH 60?

Not yet.  That last chunk opens later this year.

Ugh, WisDOT still doesn't show US 151 as freeway between Madison and Sun Prairie.  It's been over a decade since that was freeway-ified.
They also missed the new freeway chunk on WI 29 in Green Bay (CTH FF to I-41).
Some of the out-of-state areas on the map's coverage are getting pretty cringe-worthy.  I get that it's a map of Wisconsin, but c'mon; can they at least get the freeways right in the Twin Cities?

[NE2]

I think they're all RIRO's, but I'd agree that doesn't count as "freeway".

I-78 in Pennsylvania says hi.

[mgk920]

I have an old WisDOT map from the 1960s that shows then Governor Warren P. Knowles' mug on the back, too.

BTW, Scott Walker is an avid Harley-Davidson rider.   

As for the map itself, I am remiss in that the WisDOT cartographer also got US 12 from Baraboo to I-90/94 in Lake Delton wrong - it is a full freeway to just south of the interstate.

OTOH, it does show a new 'Village of Harrison' in the Appleton area.  There continues to be controversy here relating to that new muni's behavior in its bad relations with the other existing munis in the metro area ever since it was incorporated about two years ago.

Mike

[J N Winkler]

Most of my official state maps date from a period in the nineties and early noughties when I was travelling all over the US by car, and nearly all of them have the governor's picture.  The ones that don't have it tend to be oddballs for one reason or another.  The ones I have from NY don't, and their status as officials is dubious because they consist of Rand McNally cartography licensed by the NYS tourism department and were distributed as perforated inserts in a tourism brochure.  Similarly, I have one or two Arizona officials that don't have the governor's picture and were never distributed free of charge.

In Kansas, on the other hand, the last governor I know to have had her picture on the official state map was Kathleen Sebelius.  I don't think Mark Parkinson (her immediate successor, who took her place for the year between her becoming HHS secretary and Brownback being elected) ever had his picture on the map.  Brownback himself does not, which probably helps ensure the maps are used for their intended purpose.

[triplemultiplex]

I think they're all RIRO's, but I'd agree that doesn't count as "freeway".

I-78 in Pennsylvania says hi.

Eeewwwww...
So unnecessary too, with that interchange less than a mile away.

Looks like there's another instance of this on the current WI map on WI 29 west of Wausau.  There's a RIRO between the new CTH O exit (now shown!) and WI 107.

Still not showing the Bong Bridge as a freeway, WisDOT.  I always found it weird that they give it no freeway, but RandMac gives it way too much freeway, including a never-existed or even proposed interchange with WI 35.
I see they took away the "Vil of" text for the Village of Superior; the tiny incorporated municipality adjacent to the City of Superior.

[WarrenWallace]

STH 26 is shown as being freeway from south of Milton to north of Jefferson.  However, I thought that the stretch between the Milton bypass and Ft. Atkinson has at-grade intersections. interchange with the rerouted STH 60?

There is an at-grade intersection just north of the Cty N Interchange to the north of Milton.  County Line Road.

[SEWIGuy]

STH 26 is shown as being freeway from south of Milton to north of Jefferson.  However, I thought that the stretch between the Milton bypass and Ft. Atkinson has at-grade intersections. interchange with the rerouted STH 60?

There is an at-grade intersection just north of the Cty N Interchange to the north of Milton.  County Line Road.

And a "jughandle" intersection with Koshkonong Lake / Pond Road north of that.

[kurumi]

I think they're all RIRO's, but I'd agree that doesn't count as "freeway".

I-78 in Pennsylvania says hi.

That looks like the entrance to US 23 in Final Destination 2 (it's on YouTube, and it's bloody)

[JREwing78]

STH 26 is shown as being freeway from south of Milton to north of Jefferson.  However, I thought that the stretch between the Milton bypass and Ft. Atkinson has at-grade intersections.

I think they're all RIRO's, but I'd agree that doesn't count as "freeway".

There's cross traffic at a handful of intersections, some of them J-turns.

[SSOWorld]

STH 26 is shown as being freeway from south of Milton to north of Jefferson.  However, I thought that the stretch between the Milton bypass and Ft. Atkinson has at-grade intersections.

I think they're all RIRO's, but I'd agree that doesn't count as "freeway".

There's cross traffic at a handful of intersections, some of them J-turns.

a.k.a. Michigan Lefts (though without the through route across)

[midwesternroadguy]

One more new road project shown on the 2015 edition:  STH 83 is shown as 4-lane divided through the village of Wales.

Why was the western portion of Appleton Avenue in Milwaukee demoted to an undivided highway in the Milwaukee inset?

I like the addition of interchanges on some of the lesser roadways in some of the city insets.  Some county trunks and local streets are also shown as multilane divided in some of the city insets, (e.g. Green Bay:  Packerland Drive), but this is really inconsistent and misleading from city to city, or within a city inset. 

The route number shields seem smaller this year.  Since so many states are now using red over blue interstate shields in their official maps, why can't Wisconsin?  For that matter, why not use the real Wisconsin state trunk highway shield shape instead of a circle?  Also, how about using red STH and US shields for the primary freeways and expressways, and not just for the two-lane primary routes?  Then the red shields would be consistent with the shield and highway color codes. 

[Big John]

^^ Packerland Dr in Green Bay is indeed a 4-lane divided street

[triplemultiplex]

The route number shields seem smaller this year.  Since so many states are now using red over blue interstate shields in their official maps, why can't Wisconsin?  For that matter, why not use the real Wisconsin state trunk highway shield shape instead of a circle?

I think because it would look too much like a county highway symbol.  At that scale, the fine detail is lost, so it's better to keep it simple and distinct.

Also, how about using red STH and US shields for the primary freeways and expressways, and not just for the two-lane primary routes?  Then the red shields would be consistent with the shield and highway color codes. 

The red shields and lettering don't stand out well enough against the type of line spec WisDOT uses to denote freeways and expressways.  The black outline makes a black shield the better aesthetic choice.  I've seen versions where they don't 'upgrade' the road marker when the road is upgraded and it looks bad.

I would make two changes to WisDOT's road shields.
Some black fill on the part of the interstate shield that's normally red instead of a simple outline.
A wider US highway shield for 3US highways.

[on_wisconsin]

Another omission, WIS 35 between River Falls and I-94 is missing two exits (Radio Rd and Hanley Rd). Also the Eau Claire area inset still shows Hastings Way and Birch St as an interchange, which was converted into a regular intersection back in 2009.

[triplemultiplex]

Another omission, WIS 35 between River Falls and I-94 is missing two exits (Radio Rd and Hanley Rd).

They won't be showing those on the state map since they are not county highways.


A few days ago, I discovered I can play with WisDOT's map in Adobe Illustrator.  It's a bit wonky because every letter of text turned into a series of multiple polygons, but all the line and polygon features are easily manipulated.  The early results look fantastic.





I can now edit a copy of the official Wisconsin state map to my heart's content.   

[DaBigE]

A few days ago, I discovered I can play with WisDOT's map in Adobe Illustrator.  It's a bit wonky because every letter of text turned into a series of multiple polygons, but all the line and polygon features are easily manipulated.  The early results look fantastic.
I can now edit a copy of the official Wisconsin state map to my heart's content.   

Doesn't surprise me too much, as the line work comes from a MicroStation file. Most output from a CAD file can be fairly easily manipulated in Illustrator. And if you dig around far enough, you can find the [now dated] .dgn files for all of Wisconsin's counties. For those with access to Civil 3D, you can get updated mapping as part of WisDOT's settings file package.