Wisconsin notes

[mgk920]

It probably could be argued that WIDOT hasn't spent enough money in the Milwaukee area if you used a measurement based on dollars spent per AADT.   I might be wrong, but I think a lot of the recent spending is catch up to a lot of spending in largely rural areas upgrading highways that, while busy, don't contain nearly the amount of traffic as Milwaukee's highways.

Don't forget that for much of the later part of the 20th century and into the 21st century, many high-end pols in metro Milwaukee were not very warm and welcoming to the idea of major highway upgrades within their domains, so the legislature decided to spend that money were it was welcomed, that being outstate.

Mike

[hobsini2]

The next part of the Milwaukee area that needs to be addressed is the I-43 corridor from Downtown to about Brown Deer Rd. As for other parts of the state, I like the idea of addressing Wis 21 between Oshkosh and Coloma but I would say have it addressed to Tomah making 21 a true backbone road of the state system.

[thspfc]

Maybe someone should write to the DOT asking them to pay more attention to roads in Western Wisconsin.

Yeah, they have been spending on Milwaukee, the Fox Valley, and St. Croix County recently, and really nowhere else.

I'm a little surprised you left your own town off the list.   Verona Rd and the beltline too close?

While I won't speak to the rest of the Milwaukee metro, the Zoo Interchange has been in dire shape for far too long. Unless you like spending millions of dollars on emergency bridge repairs, it had to be done.

And, as I have mentioned off and on for many years in all sorts of forvms, the health and fluidity of the Zoo interchange is of critical importance to the economic well-being of the entire eastern half of Wisconsin, not just western Milwaukee County.  A HUGE chunk of the commerce into and out of most of the state east of I-39 passes through it.

Mike

I agree that the Zoo Interchange project was needed, and WISDOT did a pretty good job on it, honestly.

[SEWIGuy]

It probably could be argued that WIDOT hasn't spent enough money in the Milwaukee area if you used a measurement based on dollars spent per AADT.   I might be wrong, but I think a lot of the recent spending is catch up to a lot of spending in largely rural areas upgrading highways that, while busy, don't contain nearly the amount of traffic as Milwaukee's highways.

Don't forget that for much of the later part of the 20th century and into the 21st century, many high-end pols in metro Milwaukee were not very warm and welcoming to the idea of major highway upgrades within their domains, so the legislature decided to spend that money were it was welcomed, that being outstate.

Mike

The legislature also has a history of treating Milwaukee like a punching bag too.  Oftentimes in more than subtly racist manner.

[DaBigE]

The next part of the Milwaukee area that needs to be addressed is the I-43 corridor from Downtown to about Brown Deer Rd.

I recently sat in on a presentation from Secretary-designee Thompson, where he mentioned that stretch (but extended into Ozaukee County) as one that would be looked at more seriously again.

[The Ghostbuster]

What about the stalled Interstate 94 reconstruction and widening project between 70th St. and 16th St.? That project may need a restart more than the Interstate 43 project (although they both should be restarted). I think the Interstate 94 reconstruction should be the priority, since the traffic counts of that segment of 94 are far higher than the segment of the 43 project (Silver Spring Dr. to STH-60).

[dvferyance]

The next part of the Milwaukee area that needs to be addressed is the I-43 corridor from Downtown to about Brown Deer Rd.

That should have been done like 20 years ago. Why has Wisdot put it off for so long?

[Big John]

The next part of the Milwaukee area that needs to be addressed is the I-43 corridor from Downtown to about Brown Deer Rd.

That should have been done like 20 years ago. Why has Wisdot put it off for so long?

The NIMBYism is strong there.

[DaBigE]

The next part of the Milwaukee area that needs to be addressed is the I-43 corridor from Downtown to about Brown Deer Rd.

That should have been done like 20 years ago. Why has Wisdot put it off for so long?

It was being looked at several years ago. There's likely posts about it in this thread, discussing the interchange alternatives that were being looked at. While NIMBYism may have played a roll, I think limited funding was more of the reason the plans got shoved back on the shelf.

EDIT: Looks like it was 5-7 years ago: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/se/43crdr/default.aspx

[skluth]

The next part of the Milwaukee area that needs to be addressed is the I-43 corridor from Downtown to about Brown Deer Rd.

That should have been done like 20 years ago. Why has Wisdot put it off for so long?

It was being looked at several years ago. There's likely posts about it in this thread, discussing the interchange alternatives that were being looked at. While NIMBYism may have played a roll, I think limited funding was more of the reason the plans got shoved back on the shelf.

EDIT: Looks like it was 5-7 years ago: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/se/43crdr/default.aspx

I-43 has needed to be widened to six lanes from Silver Spring to the WI-57 split at Saukville for years. I mostly stopped going to Green Bay via I-43 from STL years ago because of the traffic backups. It was quicker going via US 151 or even WI 26 to I-41 even though it's slightly longer. (I did take it two summers ago on my way back, but it was about 11 AM on a Monday so rush hour was long over. I quit using the slightly shorter Tri-State routing around Chicago even before I-39 was completed south of I-80 because going anywhere near Chicago is inviting delays.) The biggest problem on I-43 was the narrow ROW at the bend just north of Silver Spring which really jammed afternoon rush hour traffic. But that's been fixed for several years now and widening the rest would be relatively simple. Unfortunately, widening through the bend just moved the source of the jams slightly further north.

I'm guessing the NIMBYs are the wealthy Milwaukee County lakeside towns. I can't imagine many Ozaukee County residents fighting a better I-43.

[I-39]

I'll ask again since it seemed to get lost in the shuffle the first time.

Does anyone know the status of the previously planned project to realign the "s-curve" section of US 12 near the Badger Ammunition plant (between Sauk City and the recently completed Baraboo bypass)?

[thspfc]

I'll ask again since it seemed to get lost in the shuffle the first time.

Does anyone know the status of the previously planned project to realign the "s-curve" section of US 12 near the Badger Ammunition plant (between Sauk City and the recently completed Baraboo bypass)?

I'm not sure. But that curve has to be part of the Sauk city bypass plan that will happen in the next few years.

[DaBigE]

I'll ask again since it seemed to get lost in the shuffle the first time.

Does anyone know the status of the previously planned project to realign the "s-curve" section of US 12 near the Badger Ammunition plant (between Sauk City and the recently completed Baraboo bypass)?

Looks like the study was completed, but that's about it. It doesn't appear to show up elsewhere on the SW Region project page, nor have I heard any rumors from WisDOT staff. After the study was completed, they said something would happen around 2018...obviously those plans fell through. At the very least, there are some stretches of pavement that need some TLC in the near-future.

I'll ask again since it seemed to get lost in the shuffle the first time.

Does anyone know the status of the previously planned project to realign the "s-curve" section of US 12 near the Badger Ammunition plant (between Sauk City and the recently completed Baraboo bypass)?

I'm not sure. But that curve has to be part of the Sauk city bypass plan that will happen in the next few years.

According to whom? WisDOT said in this article from 5 years ago that any bypass would be 20-30 years out. They can't even begin to seriously dream about it until the agreement ends in 2020.

[thspfc]

I'll ask again since it seemed to get lost in the shuffle the first time.

Does anyone know the status of the previously planned project to realign the "s-curve" section of US 12 near the Badger Ammunition plant (between Sauk City and the recently completed Baraboo bypass)?

I'll ask again since it seemed to get lost in the shuffle the first time.

Does anyone know the status of the previously planned project to realign the "s-curve" section of US 12 near the Badger Ammunition plant (between Sauk City and the recently completed Baraboo bypass)?

I'm not sure. But that curve has to be part of the Sauk city bypass plan that will happen in the next few years.

According to whom? WisDOT said in this article from 5 years ago that any bypass would be 20-30 years out. They can't even begin to seriously dream about it until the agreement ends in 2020.

I was judging by how quickly they completed the baraboo bypass. I didn't go on the website or anything.

[mgk920]

I'll ask again since it seemed to get lost in the shuffle the first time.

Does anyone know the status of the previously planned project to realign the "s-curve" section of US 12 near the Badger Ammunition plant (between Sauk City and the recently completed Baraboo bypass)?

I'll ask again since it seemed to get lost in the shuffle the first time.

Does anyone know the status of the previously planned project to realign the "s-curve" section of US 12 near the Badger Ammunition plant (between Sauk City and the recently completed Baraboo bypass)?

I'm not sure. But that curve has to be part of the Sauk city bypass plan that will happen in the next few years.

According to whom? WisDOT said in this article from 5 years ago that any bypass would be 20-30 years out. They can't even begin to seriously dream about it until the agreement ends in 2020.

I was judging by how quickly they completed the baraboo bypass. I didn't go on the website or anything.

I would be totally shocked if the local WisDOT engineers weren't at least playing around with a Sauk-Prairie bypass on their off time, much like how we play around with ideas of all kinds during our spare time, such that anything that we see will be pretty well developed by the time that they can officially start work on it with most of that work being already done.

Mike

[peterj920]

The US 12 intersections with County K and Wis 19 east desperately need to be upgraded to interchanges but no planned construction dates yet. Traffic frequently backs up once the Beltline ends.  Would think an interchange with County K would be a very high priority.

[thspfc]

The US 12 intersections with County K and Wis 19 east desperately need to be upgraded to interchanges but no planned construction dates yet. Traffic frequently backs up once the Beltline ends.  Would think an interchange with County K would be a very high priority.

I've always wondered why there aren't interchanges at such spots. WISDOT has neglected that US-12 corridor for a while now - its upgrade to four lanes was long overdue, and once it was upgraded they still didn't add any interchanges.

[SEWIGuy]

Well when they designed the US-12 project 20+ yers ago, I don't think they thought it would be so crowded so soon.

[mgk920]

IMHO, that is work that likely would have been done by sometime in the 1950s had the interstate system not been approved by Congress/Ike, unless a cross-country ticket tollway had been developed in that corridor instead (sans interstates).

Mike

[DaBigE]

Well when they designed the US-12 project 20+ yers ago, I don't think they thought it would be so crowded so soon.

The far west side of Madison and Middleton were a lot different back then. The housing boom in Waunakee hasn't helped things much either. Then tack on corporate changes/relocation of Fiskars, Rayovac (Spectrum), Epic, and now Exact Sciences. Yes, it's surprising WisDOT hasn't had more along US 12 on the front burner, but they're also under a lot of political heat elsewhere in the state and with no new money to work with.

[tchafe1978]

Well when they designed the US-12 project 20+ yers ago, I don't think they thought it would be so crowded so soon.

The far west side of Madison and Middleton were a lot different back then. The housing boom in Waunakee hasn't helped things much either. Then tack on corporate changes/relocation of Fiskars, Rayovac (Spectrum), Epic, and now Exact Sciences. Yes, it's surprising WisDOT hasn't had more along US 12 on the front burner, but they're also under a lot of political heat elsewhere in the state and with no new money to work with.

I think I remember a long drawn out battle between the DOT and residents of the area, which led to compromises on the project to widen US 12 between Middleton and Sauk. Which is why there are no interchanges and a 55 mph speed limit.

[DaBigE]

Well when they designed the US-12 project 20+ yers ago, I don't think they thought it would be so crowded so soon.

The far west side of Madison and Middleton were a lot different back then. The housing boom in Waunakee hasn't helped things much either. Then tack on corporate changes/relocation of Fiskars, Rayovac (Spectrum), Epic, and now Exact Sciences. Yes, it's surprising WisDOT hasn't had more along US 12 on the front burner, but they're also under a lot of political heat elsewhere in the state and with no new money to work with.

I think I remember a long drawn out battle between the DOT and residents of the area, which led to compromises on the project to widen US 12 between Middleton and Sauk. Which is why there are no interchanges and a 55 mph speed limit.

Part of that may have come from the farming community, as a freeway will change the access they have between fields. The proposal a few years ago to raise the speed limit to 65 along a portion of US 12 was met by a lot of resistance from the farmers.

[SSOWorld]

Well when they designed the US-12 project 20+ yers ago, I don't think they thought it would be so crowded so soon.

The far west side of Madison and Middleton were a lot different back then. The housing boom in Waunakee hasn't helped things much either. Then tack on corporate changes/relocation of Fiskars, Rayovac (Spectrum), Epic, and now Exact Sciences. Yes, it's surprising WisDOT hasn't had more along US 12 on the front burner, but they're also under a lot of political heat elsewhere in the state and with no new money to work with.

like F*CKsCONS!??

[mgk920]

Well when they designed the US-12 project 20+ yers ago, I don't think they thought it would be so crowded so soon.

The far west side of Madison and Middleton were a lot different back then. The housing boom in Waunakee hasn't helped things much either. Then tack on corporate changes/relocation of Fiskars, Rayovac (Spectrum), Epic, and now Exact Sciences. Yes, it's surprising WisDOT hasn't had more along US 12 on the front burner, but they're also under a lot of political heat elsewhere in the state and with no new money to work with.

like F*CKsCONS!??

Beltline/Old Sauk was a rural intersection between a two lane state highway and a minor 'township' style side road as late as the early 1980s.

Mike

[skluth]

Well when they designed the US-12 project 20+ yers ago, I don't think they thought it would be so crowded so soon.

The far west side of Madison and Middleton were a lot different back then. The housing boom in Waunakee hasn't helped things much either. Then tack on corporate changes/relocation of Fiskars, Rayovac (Spectrum), Epic, and now Exact Sciences. Yes, it's surprising WisDOT hasn't had more along US 12 on the front burner, but they're also under a lot of political heat elsewhere in the state and with no new money to work with.

like F*CKsCONS!??

Beltline/Old Sauk was a rural intersection between a two lane state highway and a minor 'township' style side road as late as the early 1980s.

Mike

Old Sauk Road had practically no traffic back then. I used it to bicycle to Blue Mounds State Park circa 1979/80.