Wisconsin notes

[JREwing78]

Speed limit was formerly 70 mph, but too many accidents have prompted the speed limit reduction.

A speed limit reduction to 55 mph will be implemented for the Interstate 39/90 work zone from just south of the US 12/18 (Beltline) Interchange near Madison to about three miles north of the Wisconsin-Illinois border. Two lanes of Interstate traffic are maintained in each direction during daytime hours and weekends. Motorists are advised to obey the posted speed limit. The new signs will be posted by early Saturday morning, June 2.

https://projects.511wi.gov/i-39-90/55mph-speedlimit/

[Revive 755]

Speed limit was formerly 70 mph, but too many accidents have prompted the speed limit reduction.

Safety or a desire for ticket revenue?  I do not recall seeing much enforcement of the 70 mph limit the times I went through the workzone.  Also, why 55 over 60?  The last time that work zone had a reduced speed section, the limit was 60.

[mgk920]

I don't have an article link handy, but I caught a news report on local radio earlier today (Friday, 2018-06-01) that said that WisDOT is working to restart the process of upgrading WI 23 between Fond du Lac and Plymouth, WI to four lanes.  The report mentioned that WisDOT will be holding a public hearing in Fond du Lac in a couple of weeks (19-June at the UW FdL center) on a revised environmental study of this exceedingly dangerous two lane highway, with the objective of overcoming a federal court order that halted the progress of upgrading the highway over 10 years ago.

WI 23 (FdL to Sheboygan) is one of my favorite drives in the state, too, and yes, this upgrade is critically needed.

Mike

[Joe The Dragon]

Speed limit was formerly 70 mph, but too many accidents have prompted the speed limit reduction.

Safety or a desire for ticket revenue?  I do not recall seeing much enforcement of the 70 mph limit the times I went through the workzone.  Also, why 55 over 60?  The last time that work zone had a reduced speed section, the limit was 60.

Sounds likes the WI version of the IL 45 MPH speed limit.

[SEWIGuy]

Speed limit was formerly 70 mph, but too many accidents have prompted the speed limit reduction.

Safety or a desire for ticket revenue?  I do not recall seeing much enforcement of the 70 mph limit the times I went through the workzone.  Also, why 55 over 60?  The last time that work zone had a reduced speed section, the limit was 60.

Volumes have been bad through that area. I think this is a smart move.

[csw]

Drove through today, speed limit is indeed down to 55 with only a handful of vehicles actually obeying it. There are signs everywhere warning of the lowered speed limit and of "aerial checking of speed"

[JREwing78]

Speed limit was formerly 70 mph, but too many accidents have prompted the speed limit reduction.

Safety or a desire for ticket revenue?  I do not recall seeing much enforcement of the 70 mph limit the times I went through the workzone.  Also, why 55 over 60?  The last time that work zone had a reduced speed section, the limit was 60.

There's been a series of bad wrecks within the past month, including several over the Memorial Day weekend. I'm frankly surprised that they kept the 70 mph limit as long as they have; it's not as tight as the I-90 construction zone in Illinois was a few years ago, but it's pretty tight. The last bad wreck, a semi-truck fire that shut down the interstate for several hours, appeared to be the last straw.

Will it make much difference? I doubt it. I presume they posted it for 70 because they figured nobody would obey lower limits anyway. But WisDOT apparently needed to "do something" about it for PR reasons.

[SSOWorld]

Hit a worker? $14000 fine, 10 years in prison.

[SEWIGuy]

Hit a worker? $14000 fine, 10 years in prison.

I understand that, but workers are relatively safe in the current set up.  They are generally working on the other side of the road or well behind barriers.  This is much more about traffic at high rates of speed in narrow lanes that weave through construction zones.

Furthermore, I think speed enforcement is difficult since there is very little room to pull someone over so I doubt this is about ticket revenue.  There are plenty of places in the state where that would be easier and safer.

[SSOWorld]

Hit a worker? $14000 fine, 10 years in prison.

I understand that, but workers are relatively safe in the current set up.  They are generally working on the other side of the road or well behind barriers.  This is much more about traffic at high rates of speed in narrow lanes that weave through construction zones.

Furthermore, I think speed enforcement is difficult since there is very little room to pull someone over so I doubt this is about ticket revenue.  There are plenty of places in the state where that would be easier and safer.

Tell that to them.  They're trying to own up to a mistake

Oh wait, nevermind - they might "fix it" more.

[MNHighwayMan]

Posted this in the Minnesota notes thread, but I thought I'd post it here too, since last night's rain also affected highways in northwest Wisconsin.

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/06/17/flash-flooding-northeastern-minnesota-northwestern-wisconsin-carlton-county-superior

WI-35 and US-2 appear to have been most affected, so far.

[invincor]

Yeah, I don't think much of this will be able to be fixed anytime soon... wow. 

as of 6/19/18
Current closures due to flooding in northern Wisconsin:
Bayfield County
Highway: US 2
Location: At North Fish Creek (east of Ino), approximat
ely 1 mile east of the intersection
with County G.
Condition: Road completely washed out.
Detour: WIS 27, WIS 77, WIS 13 for trucks, car detour on County Highway G
Highway: US 63
Location: From County Highway D in Grand View north to County Highway E, B
ibon
Swamp
Condition: Water over the road in multiple locations.
Detour: WIS 27, WIS 77, WIS 13, US 2
Burnett County
Highway: WIS 35
Location: Riverside, Burnett County H to Big Island Road
Condition: Water over the roadway.
Detour: No posted detour.
Highway: WIS 77
Location: St. Croix River Bridge at the MN border, west of Danbury
Condition: Water over the roadway on MN side of border.
Detour: No posted detour.
Douglas County
Highway: US 53 Southbound
Location: Between Huron Road and County A (near Solon Springs)
Condition: Closed due to culvert washouts.
Detour: Southbound traffic moved to the northbound lanes; reducing US 53 to one lane
in each direction between Bennett and Business 53 (Solon Springs)
Highway: WIS 35
Location: Black River Bridg
e, Pattison State Park
Condition: South bridge approach washed out and north shoulder washout. Water over
bridge.
Detour: WIS 77, US 53, WIS 35
Highway: WIS 35
Location: County B to County T in Dairyland
Condition: Several washouts
Detour: WIS 77, US 53, WIS 35

[paulthemapguy]

I took this screenshot on the 18th.  Holy mackerel.  How are people going to get anywhere?


wwm by Paul Drives, on Flickr

[20160805]

I took this screenshot on the 18th.  Holy mackerel.  How are people going to get anywhere?


wwm by Paul Drives, on Flickr

Teleportation would be my guess.  

Construction season is in full swing down here in metro Appleton too; if I were to take a drink every time I saw a "Road Work Ahead" sign today, I probably would have been completely hammered upon my arrival back at home, unless I got a DUI first.

[tchafe1978]

1st to close, last to open: Zoo Interchange ramp from WB I-94 to SB I-894 to reopen

http://fox6now.com/2018/06/20/1st-to-close-last-to-open-zoo-interchange-ramp-from-wb-i-94-to-sb-i-894-to-reopen/

It's almost complete!

[paulthemapguy]

Teleportation would be my guess.  

Construction season is in full swing down here in metro Appleton too; if I were to take a drink every time I saw a "Road Work Ahead" sign today, I probably would have been completely hammered upon my arrival back at home, unless I got a DUI first.

I just wanted to say I really appreciate the humor in your post.   

1st to close, last to open: Zoo Interchange ramp from WB I-94 to SB I-894 to reopen

http://fox6now.com/2018/06/20/1st-to-close-last-to-open-zoo-interchange-ramp-from-wb-i-94-to-sb-i-894-to-reopen/

It's almost complete!

Did I hear rumblings about a roadmeet at the Zoo Interchange once it's completed?  Because that sounds like an awesome proposition.

[mgk920]

I took this screenshot on the 18th.  Holy mackerel.  How are people going to get anywhere?


wwm by Paul Drives, on Flickr

Did Scott Walker have to order the NG to install any 'Bailey' bridges on any of those roads?

Mike

[Revive 755]

Speed limit was formerly 70 mph, but too many accidents have prompted the speed limit reduction.

Safety or a desire for ticket revenue?  I do not recall seeing much enforcement of the 70 mph limit the times I went through the workzone.  Also, why 55 over 60?  The last time that work zone had a reduced speed section, the limit was 60.

Volumes have been bad through that area. I think this is a smart move.

It appears the new work zone on I-94 between County G and WI 142 is 60.

On a related note, there are a lot of new, temporary span wire signals at intersections around the FoxConn project.

[The Ghostbuster]

I hope once the reconstruction of 41/94 south of Milwaukee and the reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange are completed in the next few years, the state can provide funding for the final design and construction of the following two freeway reconstruction projects: Interstate 94 between 70th St. and 16th St. (http://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/se/94stadiumint/default.aspx) and Interstate 43 between Silver Spring Dr. and STH-60 (http://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/se/43crdr/default.aspx)

[DaBigE]

I hope once the reconstruction of 41/94 south of Milwaukee and the reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange are completed in the next few years, the state can provide funding for the final design and construction of the following two freeway reconstruction projects: Interstate 94 between 70th St. and 16th St. (http://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/se/94stadiumint/default.aspx) and Interstate 43 between Silver Spring Dr. and STH-60 (http://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/se/43crdr/default.aspx)

That would be nice, but I'm anticipating a political fight. Although the Zoo is in its final stages, now the Foxcon project ramping up. Tensions will be high elsewhere in the state, with so much cash being devoted to the SE region for so many years and now years to come. No one has made any promises that funding the Foxcon project won't disrupt the schedule of 2019+ projects (and those are the ones already in the hopper...not including all the crumbling sections not even programmed). WisDOT already got less Federal $$ then they had hoped. It's going to be ugly for the foreseeable future.

[jakeroot]

I haven't really been following this thread closely enough to know if it's been brought up already, but I've been reading on various websites that Wisconsin's highway debt has quintupled since 2000 to $3.8B. Is this true? Because if so, I don't see why they are trying to lure Foxconn with tax incentives when they are already in the hole.

[mgk920]

I haven't really been following this thread closely enough to know if it's been brought up already, but I've been reading on various websites that Wisconsin's highway debt has quintupled since 2000 to $3.8B. Is this true? Because if so, I don't see why they are trying to lure Foxconn with tax incentives when they are already in the hole.

A lot of that was the previous administration raiding the Transportation Fund to cover general fund budget shortfalls, with that cash then being replaced with bonded debt, throughout much of the 00s.



Mike

[GeekJedi]

I haven't really been following this thread closely enough to know if it's been brought up already, but I've been reading on various websites that Wisconsin's highway debt has quintupled since 2000 to $3.8B. Is this true? Because if so, I don't see why they are trying to lure Foxconn with tax incentives when they are already in the hole.

A lot of that was the previous administration raiding the Transportation Fund to cover general fund budget shortfalls, with that cash then being replaced with bonded debt, throughout much of the 00s.



Mike

And the current administration (and other officials) refusing to raise taxes to pay for roads, instead choosing to kick the can down the road (and increasing the need for debt).

[jakeroot]

I haven't really been following this thread closely enough to know if it's been brought up already, but I've been reading on various websites that Wisconsin's highway debt has quintupled since 2000 to $3.8B. Is this true? Because if so, I don't see why they are trying to lure Foxconn with tax incentives when they are already in the hole.

A lot of that was the previous administration raiding the Transportation Fund to cover general fund budget shortfalls, with that cash then being replaced with bonded debt, throughout much of the 00s.



Mike

And the current administration (and other officials) refusing to raise taxes to pay for roads, instead choosing to kick the can down the road (and increasing the need for debt).

This is what I would assume to be the bigger issue. Obviously, mismanagement is the root cause, but the state budget doesn't seem to indicate any interest in rectifying the situation, at least not in the short-term. I will admit that the websites I were reading were generally left-leaning blogs, that don't have a lot of good things to say about Wisconsin at this point in time. But it is a bit confusing that they would give so many tax breaks to Foxconn, when they are already in the hole. They must be extremely optimistic how much money that company will be bringing in.

[SEWIGuy]

I hope once the reconstruction of 41/94 south of Milwaukee and the reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange are completed in the next few years, the state can provide funding for the final design and construction of the following two freeway reconstruction projects: Interstate 94 between 70th St. and 16th St. (http://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/se/94stadiumint/default.aspx) and Interstate 43 between Silver Spring Dr. and STH-60 (http://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/se/43crdr/default.aspx)

That would be nice, but I'm anticipating a political fight. Although the Zoo is in its final stages, now the Foxcon project ramping up. Tensions will be high elsewhere in the state, with so much cash being devoted to the SE region for so many years and now years to come. No one has made any promises that funding the Foxcon project won't disrupt the schedule of 2019+ projects (and those are the ones already in the hopper...not including all the crumbling sections not even programmed). WisDOT already got less Federal $$ then they had hoped. It's going to be ugly for the foreseeable future.

The southeast part of the state has been largely ignored for the past 30 years with regards to transportation funding. There have been highways of questionable value built all over the state, but the infrastructure needs of the state's most populous region have not been properly addressed. It's time to address them.