Wisconsin notes

[invincor]

This doesn't make much sense to me either.  Improve and repair the existing section by all means, but those reliever routes are silly and don't solve the real problem as I see it. 

I don't get down that way too often, but when I do, I look forward to driving that section because I know it's three lanes in both directions and traffic will flow smoothly.  The northern I-90/94 section (before/after I-39 joins) is only two lanes and that frequently backs up now with no terrific alternatives nearby.  That badly needs to be three lanes each way, and achieving that should take priority over any of those reliever routes.   94 from Eau Claire to Hudson could really use three-laning too. 

[DaBigE]

Count me among those who didn't know WisDOT was mulling some of these wasteful, absurd options.  What the hell are they thinking?

WisDOT must be up to their fraudulent traffic forecasting again.

Or it's a ruse to make a plan to repair what's already there look more agreeable to the public.

As someone who drives that stretch fairly frequently, it's not that bad as the roadway exists today. The weaving issues during the AM & PM peaks at the 151 cloverleaf are the biggest problems I see along the corridor other than what's already been discussed here many times.

[SEWIGuy]

This doesn't make much sense to me either.  Improve and repair the existing section by all means, but those reliever routes are silly and don't solve the real problem as I see it. 

I don't get down that way too often, but when I do, I look forward to driving that section because I know it's three lanes in both directions and traffic will flow smoothly.  The northern I-90/94 section (before/after I-39 joins) is only two lanes and that frequently backs up now with no terrific alternatives nearby.  That badly needs to be three lanes each way, and achieving that should take priority over any of those reliever routes.   94 from Eau Claire to Hudson could really use three-laning too. 

And eventually I-94 between Madison and Milwaukee needs to grow to three lanes too.

The corridors are in place.  Improve them first and foremost. 

[tribar]

WisDot Needs to stop with this nonsense and widen I-39/90 between the border and I 94. 

[The Ghostbuster]

I also believe that the new proposed reliever route will never be constructed. In the end, I'm sure the existing Interstates will be expanded.

[triplemultiplex]

Or it's a ruse to make a plan to repair what's already there look more agreeable to the public.

I think you are on to something.
"Okay, fine, you talked us out of an 'outer beltline'; we'll settle for expanding the triplemultiplex to 8 lanes and adding flyovers to the East Town Interchange.  You win, Dane County suckers."
They might also be trying to dupe Dane County into accepting a more freeway-ized version of Stoughton Road.

Wisconsin has so many higher priorities than anything for 39/90/94 beyond new pavement in a few stretches and some spot interchange improvements.
One of those is the third lane for 39/90.  94 between Cottage Grove and Oconomowoc is less of a priority for me than the 90/94 concurrency to Tomah when it comes to more lanes.  And don't even get me started on metro MKE.

[hobsini2]

Now hold on a sec guys. Think about the huge growth that Dane County has had in the last 2 decades. If Corridor A is built, it would not be a huge stretch to see the next step to be extending it south to 39/90 near Hwy N and extending the north end west to US 12 near Springfield Corners and eventually a full blown beltway which would relieve 94 traffic on 39/90/94, Beltline traffic and finally have a quick way across the northern part of the metro area. Just a thought.

[mgk920]

I'm not a fan of any of those 'reliever' routes, either.  I'd upgrade the existing I-39/90/94 corridor freeway (Beltline interchange to Cascade interchange) to eight lanes, I-90/94 from the Cascade interchange to the Tomah interchange to six lanes and upgrade existing US 12 between Middleton and I-90/94 at Lake Delton to interstate standards, perhaps making the entire corridor, including the Madison Beltline, into a full interstate (I-490?).  And yes, include a bypass of the Sauk Prairie area.

The other highways in the area, especially the US 51/Stoughton Rd corridor, can continue their upgrade progression as they have been.

Mike

[peterj920]

I'm not a fan of any of those 'reliever' routes, either.  I'd upgrade the existing I-39/90/94 corridor freeway (Beltline interchange to Cascade interchange) to eight lanes, I-90/94 from the Cascade interchange to the Tomah interchange to six lanes and upgrade existing US 12 between Middleton and I-90/94 at Lake Delton to interstate standards, perhaps making the entire corridor, including the Madison Beltline, into a full interstate (I-490?).  And yes, include a bypass of the Sauk Prairie area.

The other highways in the area, especially the US 51/Stoughton Rd corridor, can continue their upgrade progression as they have been.

Mike

According to the wisconsinhighways.org website, it was very difficult to get US 12 upgraded and there was an agreement in place that a Sauk City Bypass wouldn't be considered until after 2020.  With all of the local opposition for the initial projects an interstate quality roadway may be difficult to push through. 

I'm surprised at the amount of improvements being proposed in the Madison Area.  Is it because WISDOT's main headquarters is in Madison?  Milwaukee still has the busiest roadways in the state and the East-West Freeway badly needs to be rebuilt along with I-43 between Grafton and Glendale.  The pavement is barely holding up since resurfacings aren't lasting long.  2 years ago it was resurfaced and it's already becoming rough again.   

[SEWIGuy]

I'm not a fan of any of those 'reliever' routes, either.  I'd upgrade the existing I-39/90/94 corridor freeway (Beltline interchange to Cascade interchange) to eight lanes, I-90/94 from the Cascade interchange to the Tomah interchange to six lanes and upgrade existing US 12 between Middleton and I-90/94 at Lake Delton to interstate standards, perhaps making the entire corridor, including the Madison Beltline, into a full interstate (I-490?).  And yes, include a bypass of the Sauk Prairie area.

The other highways in the area, especially the US 51/Stoughton Rd corridor, can continue their upgrade progression as they have been.

Mike

According to the wisconsinhighways.org website, it was very difficult to get US 12 upgraded and there was an agreement in place that a Sauk City Bypass wouldn't be considered until after 2020.  With all of the local opposition for the initial projects an interstate quality roadway may be difficult to push through. 

I'm surprised at the amount of improvements being proposed in the Madison Area.  Is it because WISDOT's main headquarters is in Madison?  Milwaukee still has the busiest roadways in the state and the East-West Freeway badly needs to be rebuilt along with I-43 between Grafton and Glendale.  The pavement is barely holding up since resurfacings aren't lasting long.  2 years ago it was resurfaced and it's already becoming rough again.   

It has nothing to do with the headquarters and I think you are mistaken.  The Milwaukee area has seen the reconstruction of the Marquette interchange, the airport interchange and now the Zoo interchange.  The North/South I-94 project has added a lane from Milwaukee all the way to Illinois.  They have planned out the East/West I-94 project as well.

Madison is in the process of redoing the Verona Road interchange and are working to add a third lane south of the Beltline to the Illinois border.  They have also upgraded US-51 north for a short distance.  But outside of that am I missing something?

Madison traffic on the Beltline during rush hour is pretty close to being as bad as the Milwaukee highways during rush hour.

[I-39]

I believe there is a long range plan to make US-12 a full freeway between Madison and the Dells, but it won't be completed for a long time (if ever). I think the plan is to, when the agreement runs out, bypass Sauk City, as indicated in these plans.

http://www.prairiedusac.net/vertical/sites/%7B9B4AD25B-1470-4128-8A1E-0DB407531D87%7D/uploads/Highway_12_PF_Airport_Area_Plan_Adopted_6_26_12_small.pdf

I agree that existing freeways need to be rebuilt/expanded over building new freeways, and I think that US 51 parallel freeway is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever seen. If built, it would go right up there with the US 10 corridor (the Marshfield spur) and the WIS 26 corridor (the way it was ultimately built) as overbuilt, unnecessary projects.

[peterj920]

I'm not a fan of any of those 'reliever' routes, either.  I'd upgrade the existing I-39/90/94 corridor freeway (Beltline interchange to Cascade interchange) to eight lanes, I-90/94 from the Cascade interchange to the Tomah interchange to six lanes and upgrade existing US 12 between Middleton and I-90/94 at Lake Delton to interstate standards, perhaps making the entire corridor, including the Madison Beltline, into a full interstate (I-490?).  And yes, include a bypass of the Sauk Prairie area.

The other highways in the area, especially the US 51/Stoughton Rd corridor, can continue their upgrade progression as they have been.

Mike

According to the wisconsinhighways.org website, it was very difficult to get US 12 upgraded and there was an agreement in place that a Sauk City Bypass wouldn't be considered until after 2020.  With all of the local opposition for the initial projects an interstate quality roadway may be difficult to push through. 

I'm surprised at the amount of improvements being proposed in the Madison Area.  Is it because WISDOT's main headquarters is in Madison?  Milwaukee still has the busiest roadways in the state and the East-West Freeway badly needs to be rebuilt along with I-43 between Grafton and Glendale.  The pavement is barely holding up since resurfacings aren't lasting long.  2 years ago it was resurfaced and it's already becoming rough again.   

It has nothing to do with the headquarters and I think you are mistaken.  The Milwaukee area has seen the reconstruction of the Marquette interchange, the airport interchange and now the Zoo interchange.  The North/South I-94 project has added a lane from Milwaukee all the way to Illinois.  They have planned out the East/West I-94 project as well.

Madison is in the process of redoing the Verona Road interchange and are working to add a third lane south of the Beltline to the Illinois border.  They have also upgraded US-51 north for a short distance.  But outside of that am I missing something?

Madison traffic on the Beltline during rush hour is pretty close to being as bad as the Milwaukee highways during rush hour.

The Verona Road project is badly needed and I think there should be freeway to freeway ramps between the Beltline and US 18/151.  I know that The Beltline gets very congested and could use an upgrade to 8 lanes.  I'm looking at that reliever route proposal and haven't seen a project proposal like that in any area of the state with a new freeway of that magnitude to supplement an existing freeway.  I also look at the US 51/Stoughton Road proposal to pretty much make that a freeway.  I'm just amazed that there are 2 freeway proposals so close to I-39/I-90. 

[mgk920]

The Verona Road project is badly needed and I think there should be freeway to freeway ramps between the Beltline and US 18/151.  I know that The Beltline gets very congested and could use an upgrade to 8 lanes.  I'm looking at that reliever route proposal and haven't seen a project proposal like that in any area of the state with a new freeway of that magnitude to supplement an existing freeway.  I also look at the US 51/Stoughton Road proposal to pretty much make that a freeway.  I'm just amazed that there are 2 freeway proposals so close to I-39/I-90.

The Madison area continues to grow at a fairly torrid pace and municipal boundary agreements are in place that will significantly increase the land area of the cities (especially including Madison) in the eastern and northeastern parts of the metro area.  Three entire townships (Blooming Grove, Burke and Madison) are slated to completely disappear over the next couple of decades.  The entire area in the Deforest/Sun Prairie/Madison triangle and on northward will likely fill in completely within my lifetime.

This 'planning ahead' on transport facilities for that area is well warranted.

Mike

[cwm1276]

Now hold on a sec guys. Think about the huge growth that Dane County has had in the last 2 decades. If Corridor A is built, it would not be a huge stretch to see the next step to be extending it south to 39/90 near Hwy N and extending the north end west to US 12 near Springfield Corners and eventually a full blown beltway which would relieve 94 traffic on 39/90/94, Beltline traffic and finally have a quick way across the northern part of the metro area. Just a thought.

Moving to fictional area now.
If going the route of new right away, how about moving 39 to its own right away?  Folllowing concept A down to 39/90 to the south and running it all the way to Portage.  Have a connector south of Portage between the 2 highways.   Possibly move 94 onto the new alignment as well using the Portage connector.

The benefits would be 90 near Madison would be more local traffic, and between the 2 highways they could back each other up in cases of accidents and traffic concerns.

Honestly when I travel the area the area around 151 and southbound Summer Sunday traffic are the main things I notice.

[SEWIGuy]

Now hold on a sec guys. Think about the huge growth that Dane County has had in the last 2 decades. If Corridor A is built, it would not be a huge stretch to see the next step to be extending it south to 39/90 near Hwy N and extending the north end west to US 12 near Springfield Corners and eventually a full blown beltway which would relieve 94 traffic on 39/90/94, Beltline traffic and finally have a quick way across the northern part of the metro area. Just a thought.

Moving to fictional area now.
If going the route of new right away, how about moving 39 to its own right away?  Folllowing concept A down to 39/90 to the south and running it all the way to Portage.  Have a connector south of Portage between the 2 highways.   Possibly move 94 onto the new alignment as well using the Portage connector.

The benefits would be 90 near Madison would be more local traffic, and between the 2 highways they could back each other up in cases of accidents and traffic concerns.

Honestly when I travel the area the area around 151 and southbound Summer Sunday traffic are the main things I notice.

The issue can be resolved by increasing capacity on the current route.  Perhaps you could simply upgrade County CS and its interchange to a state highway that ties into US-51 as a reliever route.  (Or perhaps you could route US-51 along this route and turn US-51 between Poynette and WI-16 into WI-551 or something similar.)

[on_wisconsin]

94 from Eau Claire to Hudson could really use three-laning too. 

As someone who has lived both in areas, this definitely needs to happen before any major upgrades of US 51 north of De Forrest.

[Revive 755]

The North/South I-94 project has added a lane from Milwaukee all the way to Illinois.

Last time I drove I-41/I-94, there were quite a few miles where construction on the fourth through lane had not even started, and I though it was not planned to be completed until 2020 or later.

I'm looking at that reliever route proposal and haven't seen a project proposal like that in any area of the state with a new freeway of that magnitude to supplement an existing freeway.

Stretching a bit, but the unbuilt Lake Freeway between the east/south end of I-794 and the Illinois border could have been considered a reliever for current I-94.

[I-39]

Let's worry about finishing the I-39/90 expansion between Madison and the state line as well as the I-94 expansion between Milwaukee and the state line before starting anything else. Those are both long overdue and are progressing at a snail's pace. I still don't even see a firm date for the reconstruction of the Beltline interchange on the I-39/90 project.

[peterj920]

Let's worry about finishing the I-39/90 expansion between Madison and the state line as well as the I-94 expansion between Milwaukee and the state line before starting anything else. Those are both long overdue and are progressing at a snail's pace. I still don't even see a firm date for the reconstruction of the Beltline interchange on the I-39/90 project.

I-39/I-90 in Janesville did get a federal fastlane grant this year for work in Janesville.  I think right now it's getting priority over I-94/I-41 in Racine County.  I-94/I-41 is the busiest rural freeway in the state along with the busiest border crossing in the state.  Looks like the Beltline Interchange is included in the new I-39/90/94 study.

[The Ghostbuster]

It will be at least 10 years before any work is started on the Interstate 39/90/94 corridor. Let's see what they come up with first. IMHO, most of the upgrades will likely be confined to the existing Interstate corridor, rather than alternate corridors.

[Mrt90]

This week, I noticed signs on I-94/I-41 in Kenosha County for a Frank Lloyd Wright Trail. Apparently, it runs between Kenosha County and Richland County, I'm pretty sure I saw an exit sign southbound at Hwy 165 in Kenosha County which I assume will direct people to the visitors center (or maybe Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Culver's restaurants or outlet mall ) but I couldn't find any specific information about the route, except for the link which shows the places to visit.  Does anyone know anything more about this?  I guess signing it to start at the state line going north to Racine makes sense, but I can't figure out why someone starting in the western part of the state, then going east, and finishing in Racine would then want to go south on I-94/I-41 to Kenosha County?

http://www.travelwisconsin.com/article/tours/wisconsins-frank-lloyd-wright-trail

It was established this past spring.  The law didn't designate a specific routing, but directs WIDOT to do so and then sign it.

So I had a chance to follow the Frank Lloyd Wright Trail signs this past weekend.  Rather than originating on I-94/I-41 at the state line, for some reason it actually begins/ends on WI31 (Green Bay Road) at the state line, then turns west on to WI165, and then enters I-94/41. If they were going to start it on WI31, I'm not sure why they just didn't have it run up WI31 all the way to Racine, which would actually be faster.  Also, once you are on I-94/41, there are no signs directing you to exit or any directions to the 3 places to visit in Racine. 

I find it really bizarre that there are no signs directing you where to go in Racine, but for some reason they decided to originate the route in Kenosha County and then began it off the interstate in Kenosha County where there are no FLW building to see, yet in Racine County it is only routed on the interstate.

[SEWIGuy]

This week, I noticed signs on I-94/I-41 in Kenosha County for a Frank Lloyd Wright Trail. Apparently, it runs between Kenosha County and Richland County, I'm pretty sure I saw an exit sign southbound at Hwy 165 in Kenosha County which I assume will direct people to the visitors center (or maybe Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Culver's restaurants or outlet mall ) but I couldn't find any specific information about the route, except for the link which shows the places to visit.  Does anyone know anything more about this?  I guess signing it to start at the state line going north to Racine makes sense, but I can't figure out why someone starting in the western part of the state, then going east, and finishing in Racine would then want to go south on I-94/I-41 to Kenosha County?

http://www.travelwisconsin.com/article/tours/wisconsins-frank-lloyd-wright-trail

It was established this past spring.  The law didn't designate a specific routing, but directs WIDOT to do so and then sign it.

So I had a chance to follow the Frank Lloyd Wright Trail signs this past weekend.  Rather than originating on I-94/I-41 at the state line, for some reason it actually begins/ends on WI31 (Green Bay Road) at the state line, then turns west on to WI165, and then enters I-94/41. If they were going to start it on WI31, I'm not sure why they just didn't have it run up WI31 all the way to Racine, which would actually be faster.  Also, once you are on I-94/41, there are no signs directing you to exit or any directions to the 3 places to visit in Racine. 

I find it really bizarre that there are no signs directing you where to go in Racine, but for some reason they decided to originate the route in Kenosha County and then began it off the interstate in Kenosha County where there are no FLW building to see, yet in Racine County it is only routed on the interstate.

I mean to mention that I saw it posted on I-94 in Jefferson County a couple weeks ago too.

[GeekJedi]

Here's the answer to the burning question about the license plates...WI is going to seven characters:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/columnists/jim-stingl/2016/12/06/stingl-license-plate-combinations-running-out/95010738/

[colinstu]

Here's the answer to the burning question about the license plates...WI is going to seven characters:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/columnists/jim-stingl/2016/12/06/stingl-license-plate-combinations-running-out/95010738/

Awesome update. I've been seeing the letters getting higher and higher and was very curious what they would do next.

I wonder if they will keep the dash or not, it almost sounded like they might keep it still?

[Mrt90]

Here's the answer to the burning question about the license plates...WI is going to seven characters:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/columnists/jim-stingl/2016/12/06/stingl-license-plate-combinations-running-out/95010738/

I had forgotten about the blue lettering on the original ABC-123 format plates in 1986. It was always odd to spot the occasional blue letter plates years later.  I got the red letter plates when I bought my first car in 1990 (began with the letter G) and the letters faded pretty quickly, and were barely readable when I got new plates (2000 or 2001) but those black letter plates still look very good. 

Since the 3 letter, 3 number format took somewhere around 14 to 17 years to run out, I guess that means the extra digit should make this format last around 150 years.