interchange oddity at Port Washington WI

[Stephane Dumas]

I spotted this interchange oddity at Port Washington WI http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ie=UTF8&ll=43.385963,-87.900431&spn=0.020959,0.05476&t=h&z=15 at the junction of WI-33 and CH-LI, I wondered if CH-LI was a former alignment of US-141 and if it was once planned to be upgraded as a freeway before the current path of I-43 was built?

[rawmustard]

According to Chris Bessert's entry on US-141, the Port Washington bypass (current CTH-LL) opened in 1957 while the freeway (what is now I-43) came in 1975. Judging by the way I-43 swings around Port Washington, I would surmise that there was too much development along the 1957 bypass to consider incorporating it into the later freeway.

[mgk920]

According to Chris Bessert's entry on US-141, the Port Washington bypass (current CTH-LL) opened in 1957 while the freeway (what is now I-43) came in 1975. Judging by the way I-43 swings around Port Washington, I would surmise that there was too much development along the 1957 bypass to consider incorporating it into the later freeway.

Also, there was a major interchange planned for where the I-43/WI 57 split is at Port Washington's northwest corner, the unbuilt freeway would have extended west and then curved southward towards the Stadium Freeway in Milwaukee.  Some 'ghost ramping' is still visible there, especially with the vertical space between the NB WI 57 and SB I-43 overcrossing - enough space for another ramp to fit between.

Also, projected southwards, 'old' US 141 there curved southwestward and where it meets present-day I-43 was once a very different interchange with free-flowing ramps, virtually identical to US 45 and Appleton Ave (US 41/WI 175) on Milwaukee's far northwest side - and like at US 45/Appleton Ave, the freeway in the middle was built later.  It was rebuilt as a standard diamond in, IIRC, the early-mid 1970s.  Before I-43 came along, US 141 and WI 57 did a 'bump' there, with US 141 being County 'W' to the south and WI 57 being County 'W' to the north and County 'V' to the south.

A very interesting bit of post-WWII highway works.

Mike