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Wisconsin notes

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mgk920:
A few notes from a daytrip around the state on Monday (2012-05-28):

-Weather was warm and humid and, much to my chagrin, I found out that my car's air conditioner had lost its cool.

:-o

I survived with the sunroof open and so forth and the car goes in for service in a couple of days.

-Nothing really new of note in the US 41 Construction Geek Zone™ in the Oshkosh area.

-Dodge County 'A' running southward from US 151 by the Walmart* distribution center on the northeast edge of Beaver Dam ('Beaver Darn'?) was massively rebuilt and concrete paved over the past couple of years and looks nicer than similarly-rebuilt state highways - it is a FANTASTIC road!  The southernmost part of County 'A' near WI 26 southwest of Juneau is closed for upgrades right now.  The WI 33/County 'A' intersection just east of Beaver Dam was not rebuilt and since its traffic control is a four-way STOP, I'm sensing that WisDOT may be wanting to redo that intersection as a roundabout.  Even though County 'A' is a great alternative to existing WI 26 between WI 16/60 and US 151 and could well be a worthy new routing for it, IMHO it is not in the ideal location to be a permanent WI 26, which should ultimately feed into US 151 on Beaver Dam's southeast corner.

-The southernmost part of the WI 26 Watertown bypass freeway is complete and open northwards to the first interchange for the city.  Local roads and streets in the area are now being reconfigured for the new bypass and the remainder of this bypass appears to be on-track for opening sometime this fall.  Roundabouts are present in abundance, too, at Watertown.

-The WI 26 bridge over the railroad immediately south of Johnson Creek is complete and open.  Its north end almost looks to align in a way that would have it seamlessly feeding into a potential eastside Johnson Creek bypass.

-The WI 26 Fort Atkinson bypass four lane upgrade (from a 'Super Two') is complete and looks very nice.

-Grading/earthworks for the WI 26 Milton, WI bypass is well under way and several bridges are in various stages of construction.  The north end of this bypass will feed into existing WI 26 at County 'NN' (a WI 26 'old road') and some signs of the wider ROW are visible along WI 26 from there to the Fort Atkinson bypass section.

-The Ice Age National Scenic Trail http://www.iceagetrail.org is marked on sidewalks along existing WI 26 in Milton.

-At least one interchange and additional crossroad overcrossing are under construction on the section of WI 26 from the Milton bypass into the City of Janesville.  The condition of the land and buildings, including an aging motel, on the east side of WI 26 running northwards from I-39/90 in Janesville almost makes me think that WisDOT may have plans for that area.

-It seems like nearly half of the interchanges along WI 26 from Watertown to I-39/90 are for 'BUSINESS WI 26'.  There are WI 26 business routes in Fort Atkinson, Jefferson and Watertown.

-Once four lanes on WI 26 are completed, it will make a great road for someone to videotape.

-Washington St (US 151) is being repaved from I-39/90/94 to Portage Rd in Madison.  Ditto University Ave from the Hill Farms area to the Madison city limits.

-When did all of the gas stations in the Madison area start requiring their cash customers to pay for their fuel before they pump it?  That's the only place in the state that I know of where that is generally the case.

-That new 345 KV power line that is under construction along the Madison Beltline is very impressive!

Mike

SEWIGuy:
The WI-26 bridges just south of Johnson Creek fully opened for the first time just last Friday.

hobsini2:
County A in Dodge Co is probably my fav back road way to get to my grandmother's house in Princeton from Chicago. I agree it should be a 3di state highway due to the traffic.

JREwing78:
WI-26 and County A in Dodge Co. could easily be flip-flopped, and WI-49 brought south over the old WI-26 routing. It would make for a lot less new 4-lane highway when it's extended to US-151.

I was up that way on WI-26 a week ago. Still annoyed that the freeway stretches don't merit a 65mph speed limit yet - it's a bona-fide speed trap the entire way. I can understand 55mph coming into and heading north of Johnson Creek, at least until the Watertown bypass is completed. But there's no reason other than revenue enhancement for 55mph on a rural freeway.

Jordanah1:
is there anything buzzing around the WISDOT about extending a 4lane WI 26 all the way to any point along US 151? i would think they would at least have something in their plans and projects, but i havent been able to find anything. also im wondering if they have any plans for widening US41 along the north side of the Fox Valley to Green bay. does anyone have anything on either of these?

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