Wausau's freeway (WI29 and US51)

[SEWIGuy]

This wouldn't be the first time local development plans and WisDOT highway plans have conflicted.

Basically, the gas station owner didn't do his due diligence in researching the location before building the gas station, then wants WisDOT to change the plans so he doesn't go bankrupt over his poor decision.

Just like with that McD's and the recently-opened WI 26 Milton bypass.

Mike

The McD owner should be blaming his own city government for being completely out to lunch when the bypass was planned and not WIDOT. 

[DaBigE]

The McD owner should be blaming his own city government for being completely out to lunch when the bypass was planned and not WIDOT.

  Nice.

They must be Burger King fans.

[SEWIGuy]

The McD owner should be blaming his own city government for being completely out to lunch when the bypass was planned and not WIDOT.

  Nice.

They must be Burger King fans.

Ha.  Completely unintentional!

[Jim920]

Isn't this already the 2nd location for the owner of this gas station?  The first one was on County-K (then US-51) just south of County-C.

http://goo.gl/maps/js0xY

[triplemultiplex]

After 11 continuous years of construction on I-39/US 51 through Wausau, the end is finally in sight.  The rebuilt interchange at CTH U/CTH K/Bus 51 is days away from being totally done from my observation.  I find it sadly funny how close the NB acceleration lane ends and the hill climbing lane begins.  It has got to be less than a thousand feet.  For the life of me, I don't know why you don't just have that third lane start where the on ramp merges.  Why force a truck getting on the freeway to merge into a travel lane only to immediately merge back for the hill climb?  Stupid.

Meanwhile on the other side of town, the extremely poorly scheduled projects to replace bridges on the interstate and reconstruct the ramps will be done at the end of this construction season.  So next year will be the first time summer travelers will not see orange signs through Wausau in over a decade.

That southern Bus 51 interchange area in Rothschild has been done very inefficiently.  Something that could have been done in just two years has been stretched over half a decade.  All they did was replace four bridges to make them wider and provide more accel/decel space for the interchange.  Even though the bridges over the Wisconsin River are bigger than your typical overpass, they were each done in a single season, but a couple years apart.  There is no reason the improvements made should have taken as long as a six lane expansion project that included two system interchanges.  WisDOT really dropped the ball on coordinating these projects in Rothschild.

Of course, someone is going to blame it on funding; in which case it should have waited until money was available to do these improvements on a more convenient schedule for motorists.

[The Ghostbuster]

I'd like to see Interstate 39 extended northward. I doubt it will happen, though.

[I-39]

I'd like to see Interstate 39 extended northward. I doubt it will happen, though.

I think it's more likely an Interstate designation is given to WIS 29 before we see I-39 extended.

[SEWIGuy]

I'd like to see Interstate 39 extended northward. I doubt it will happen, though.

I think it's more likely an Interstate designation is given to WIS 29 before we see I-39 extended.

I guess it depends how far north you are talking about.  I believe US-51 is interstate compatible from I-39's current end through Wausau to just beyond Merrill.

Theoretically it could be extended by just adding signage to end at the northern WI-29 interchange...or the northern Business 51 interchange....or even WI-64.

[SSOWorld]

Let's keep fictional talk in the Fictional board please

[SEWIGuy]

How is debating the extension of an existing interstate over a newly reconstructed section of highway "fictional?"  Especially since the reconstructed highway is the exact topic of the thread?

[The Ghostbuster]

I second that. Besides, Interstate may (not definite) be extended to exit 211 in the future.

[peterj920]

Another idea for extending I-39 would be to extend the freeway along US 8 to Rhinelander and end there if the stretch north of Merrill is upgraded to freeway.  That way I-39 could have an end point at a decently populated city.  Don't think there are any plans for this but the extension would be about 15 miles if it were ever considered.   

[Molandfreak]

How is debating the extension of an existing interstate over a newly reconstructed section of highway "fictional?"  Especially since the reconstructed highway is the exact topic of the thread?

This. Discussing possible outcomes from planned construction =/= fictional.

[triplemultiplex]

Another idea for extending I-39 would be to extend the freeway along US 8 to Rhinelander and end there if the stretch north of Merrill is upgraded to freeway.  That way I-39 could have an end point at a decently populated city.  Don't think there are any plans for this but the extension would be about 15 miles if it were ever considered.   

Way more traffic continues north on US 51 to Minocqua than exists on US 8 anywhere in the area.  So much so that WisDOT has been adding passing lanes between the end of the freeway and the start of the 4 lane undivided section at Hazelhurst.  As a native of the Northwoods, I've driven these roads countless times and in my observation about 1/4 to 1/3 of the traffic exits at US 8.

To me, the logical end for I-39 is therefore US 8.

Upgrades to US 51 would be fairly simple since WisDOT already has most of the necessary r/w.  This would be for a diamond interchange at CTH K south of Irma and for a frontage road on the west side of US 51 between Irma and the current end of the existing frontage road that comes south from CTH S.

I thought I remember some rumblings around AARoads of extending the I-39 designation north to the other jct with WI 29 that sounded based in something official since that would officially bring I-39 into the city limits of Wausau.  Of course when you talk to WisDOT folks at PIM's and ask about if something could become an interstate, they usually say it "could", based solely on its physical attributes.

Extending I-39 would run into the same final obstacle that existed for I-41; exemption from interstate weight limits.  Like US 41 in the Fox Valley and Green Bay areas, lots of logging trucks use US 51 to get timber to mills in Tomahawk, Merrill, Brokaw, Rothschild, Mosinee & the Wisconsin Rapids area.  I'm sure they can't just use the exemption granted back when I-39 was first commissioned in Wisconsin.

Speaking of which, the completion of the current work around Wausau brings all of I-39 up to current interstate standards 20+ years after the first signs went up.  The ramps at Bus 51 south had insufficient room for acceleration/deceleration for their curvature.  There used to be sub-standard bridge clearances between Mosinee and Wausau.
I-39 is why I don't get all bent out of shape if a potential interstate has some minor deficiency that is supposedly preventing it from being one.  A couple outdated bridges and a few miles of narrow shoulder are the kind of things that shouldn't stand in the way of the promotion.  Because they will get fixed eventually as those portions come up for regular maintenance.  This is what happened with I-39 in Wisconsin.  It had some minor substandard components, but they got upgraded in due course.  And meanwhile, the area gets its interstate right away instead of waiting on some piddling little upgrade that does little to benefit traffic.

[mgk920]

I'd love to see a detailed map of the originally-planned US 51 freeway extension from County 'K' to and beyond the Minocqua-Woodruff area.

I also know that it was originally planned to follow a new-ROW that was to run with much broader, highly-engineered curves (to match those to the south) east of the 'old' and still current US 51 from just south of Irma to the Tomahawk bypass.

Mike

[dvferyance]

This wouldn't be the first time local development plans and WisDOT highway plans have conflicted.

Basically, the gas station owner didn't do his due diligence in researching the location before building the gas station, then wants WisDOT to change the plans so he doesn't go bankrupt over his poor decision.

Yeah really it was pretty much a given that at some point that intersection was going to get overpassed. Should have built it by the interchange with Hwy K just to the south.