Wisconsin notes

[SEWIGuy]

The DOT just restarted the two studies this year: US 18/151 Study (https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/sw/18151study/default.aspx); US 151 Freeway Conversion Study (https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/sw/151/default.aspx). I don't expect any freeway conversion projects to be implemented until at least 2035 or 2040.

US 151 should have been an interstate standard freeway from Madison to Fond du Lac years ago.

Traffic counts still don't support it northeast of WI-26. In fact that segment isn't even included in this study - a project that is in itself unlikely to finish in the next decade. I'm young, and I would be surpised if US-151 becomes a freeway from Waupun to FDL in my lifetime.

I would support converting it to a freeway up to Beaver Dam beyond that it's fine as is.

The distance between the end of the freeway portion in Beaver Dam, and the beginning of the freeway portion around Waupun, is 5 miles. I think they would have to block off four cross streets and build an interchange at Dodge CTH C. As long as they are doing the study, it makes perfect sense to continue the project that far.

Traffic counts go from around 20,000 between Beaver Dam and Waupun, to about 14,000 north of the northern WI-26 interchage where a great deal of traffic heads off to Rosendale. It would make sense to go to Waupun, but not beyond.

I get that a good chunk of traffic splits off 151 at 26 heading for Rosendale and Oshkosh. However, if people knew that 151 was a freeway entirely, I could see some of the Oshkosh traffic prefer to stay on 151 at the split. An upgraded 151 with a 70 mph zone from Hwy D to Wis 26 with no cross traffic would be very appealing.

This would only be significant if they built a free-flowing interchange at I-41.

Yeah, although the movements there rarely add much to the travel time.

I think the biggest problem is that it heads so far south, obviously to connect to the bypass around FdL, that it adds more time to the trip. If the primary concern for this route was an alternative to WI-26, a more direct shot from Lamartine to I-41 would have been much better.

[peterj920]

The new WISDOT map is out. I really like it. Very accurate and the freeways are back on The Beltline, Wis 11, and Wis 145. WisThere's a slight redesign and it looks good.

[The Ghostbuster]

I'd better order one right away!

[peterj920]

Looking at the new map I wonder what the criteria is to be shown as an expressway.

Wis 57 between I-43 and Plymouth, US 12 between Middleton and Sauk City, and Wis 36 between Franklin and Burlington are now expressways on the new map despite 55 mph speed limits.

 The shortest expressway segment is US 14 for less than 2 miles west of Richland Center. For years I wondered why US 45 north of Antigo wasn't shown as 4 lanes. Now it finally shows on this map.

[The Ghostbuster]

I think you meant STH 64, not US 14. US 14 goes nowhere near New Richmond. There are proposals to eventually convert STH 64 to all-freeway from the STH 35 North/Business 64 West interchange (Exit 9) to STH 65: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/nw/wis64freeway/default.aspx; as well as eventually extending the expressway segment east of STH 65, and upgrade some of US 63 to expressway standards: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/nw/us63wis64/default.aspx.

[dvferyance]

The new WISDOT map is out. I really like it. Very accurate and the freeways are back on The Beltline, Wis 11, and Wis 145. WisThere's a slight redesign and it looks good.

The new WISDOT map is out. I really like it. Very accurate and the freeways are back on The Beltline, Wis 11, and Wis 145. WisThere's a slight redesign and it looks good.

Oh it is? I was just at the Beloit Welcome Center last Saturday and they still had the 2023 edition. Stinks that it didn't come out a few days earlier.

[JREwing78]

Whatever happens to the corridor in the future, these two at-grade rail crossing have got to be grade-separated: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.4675228,-88.815052,3a,75y,359.35h,88.4t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1smyjHnYbMNSLQBep0lCYGxA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D1.602236788816569%26panoid%3DmyjHnYbMNSLQBep0lCYGxA%26yaw%3D359.34812483181906!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDUwMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D (along the Beaver Dam Bypass); and https://www.google.com/maps/@43.5951913,-88.735053,3a,75y,63.85h,87.83t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1speoUuWWVf_81do6ES-dR7w!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D2.170074460102896%26panoid%3DpeoUuWWVf_81do6ES-dR7w%26yaw%3D63.84593797219095!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDUwMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D (along the Waupun Bypass).

How often does rail traffic pass through there? Is it daily? Multiple times daily? Just once a week? As long as we're not slapping an Interstate shield on it, and crossings are rare, some decent advanced-warning signage should be sufficient.

Obviously, if we're talking multiple times a day, or there's a history of bad wrecks there, spend the money to overpass it. But otherwise, some enhanced warning signage and full-width crossing gates (plus a restriction on the speed of the trains crossing it) should be fine for a while yet.

US-141 does have similar crossings, one of which was the site of a bad wreck. But folks were running highway speeds in dense fog and weren't paying attention. Those crossings could also stand to have improved warning signage. 

[peterj920]

I think you meant STH 64, not US 14. US 14 goes nowhere near New Richmond. There are proposals to eventually convert STH 64 to all-freeway from the STH 35 North/Business 64 West interchange (Exit 9) to STH 65: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/nw/wis64freeway/default.aspx; as well as eventually extending the expressway segment east of STH 65, and upgrade some of US 63 to expressway standards: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/nw/us63wis64/default.aspx.

I corrected the post, I meant Richland Center. Check it out on the new map. The small stretch of US 14 is an expressway on the map. It looks like it was built because the hills in that area are steep.

[JREwing78]

Looking at the new map I wonder what the criteria is to be shown as an expressway.
Wis 57 between I-43 and Plymouth, US 12 between Middleton and Sauk City, and Wis 36 between Franklin and Burlington are now expressways on the new map despite 55 mph speed limits.
 The shortest expressway segment is US 14 for less than 2 miles west of New Richmond. For years I wondered why US 45 north of Antigo wasn't shown as 4 lanes. Now it finally shows on this map.

Used to be that having stoplights was a deal killer for the "expressway" designation. 

Apparently they're not even consistent on the "multilane" or "divided" part - they show a 4-land "multilane divided" US-51 between Hwy 70 and Hwy D (Minocqua, Hazelhurst) that most certainly is NOT divided outside of downtown Minocqua - it's a 5-lane (2 lane each way with TWLTL), then a raised concrete median strip with one lane each way. Whatever it is, it's not "multilane divided".

You can add Hwy 11/81 around Monroe to that list - only posted for 55 and even has an at-grade pedestrian trail crossing. Historically it's been shown as "multilane divided". I don't necessarily disagree with the "expressway" designation - I just wish they extended it east to the Hwy 81 intersection and allowed 65 mph.

[JREwing78]

Add the Hwy 18 "bypass" of Prairie du Chien. Divided. Yes. Multi-lane? No. 

[peterj920]

Whatever happens to the corridor in the future, these two at-grade rail crossing have got to be grade-separated: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.4675228,-88.815052,3a,75y,359.35h,88.4t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1smyjHnYbMNSLQBep0lCYGxA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D1.602236788816569%26panoid%3DmyjHnYbMNSLQBep0lCYGxA%26yaw%3D359.34812483181906!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDUwMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D (along the Beaver Dam Bypass); and https://www.google.com/maps/@43.5951913,-88.735053,3a,75y,63.85h,87.83t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1speoUuWWVf_81do6ES-dR7w!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D2.170074460102896%26panoid%3DpeoUuWWVf_81do6ES-dR7w%26yaw%3D63.84593797219095!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDUwMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D (along the Waupun Bypass).

How often does rail traffic pass through there? Is it daily? Multiple times daily? Just once a week? As long as we're not slapping an Interstate shield on it, and crossings are rare, some decent advanced-warning signage should be sufficient.

Obviously, if we're talking multiple times a day, or there's a history of bad wrecks there, spend the money to overpass it. But otherwise, some enhanced warning signage and full-width crossing gates (plus a restriction on the speed of the trains crossing it) should be fine for a while yet.

US-141 does have similar crossings, one of which was the site of a bad wreck. But folks were running highway speeds in dense fog and weren't paying attention. Those crossings could also stand to have improved warning signage.

The crossings on US 151 and 151 aren't that busy. I frequently drive US 151 and was stopped once at night for a short train in Waupun. South of Beaver Dam there's an overpass over the Union Pacific mainline because there is multiple long trains a day.

On US 141 if trains were to use the line multiple times a day the track would fall apart. The Escanaba and Lake Superior Railway has frequent detailings because their tracks are in awful shape.

[mgk920]

I am aware for discussions over at least the past decade to reverse the order of the US 151 street grade separations by the railroad crossing in Beaver Dam.

The one by Waupun could easily be done like the WI 26 one at the south edge of Johnson Creek due to its wide-open setting.

Mike

[WisJohn]

The new WISDOT map is out. I really like it. Very accurate and the freeways are back on The Beltline, Wis 11, and Wis 145. WisThere's a slight redesign and it looks good.

They eliminated County park markers. Overall though, it looks spiffy.

[mgk920]

South of Beaver Dam there's an overpass over the Union Pacific mainline because there is multiple long trains a day.

The US 151 grade separation south of Beaver Dame was built EARLY due to that rail line (now Union Pacific, then Chicago and Northwestern's Adams Line) being built in the early 19zeroes as a HIGH SPEED passenger line.  High speed passenger trains and highway traffic don't get along very well, thus the grade separation at US 151.  When that line (the newest cross country rail route in the State of Wisconsin) first opened, CNW was able to offer trains that ran on then astounding 6h40m (400 minute) schedules between their terminal in downtown Chicago and their terminal in downtown Minneapolis.  Their popular speed and service quality quickly spread system wide as their '400' series trains, including to Green Bay.

Mike

[dvferyance]

The new WISDOT map is out. I really like it. Very accurate and the freeways are back on The Beltline, Wis 11, and Wis 145. WisThere's a slight redesign and it looks good.

They eliminated County park markers. Overall though, it looks spiffy.

Although were there any other states that marked county parks on the map? I can't think of one.

[Molandfreak]

The new WISDOT map is out. I really like it. Very accurate and the freeways are back on The Beltline, Wis 11, and Wis 145. WisThere's a slight redesign and it looks good.

They eliminated County park markers. Overall though, it looks spiffy.

Although were there any other states that marked county parks on the map? I can't think of one.

County and regional parks are included in the Twin Cities Metro inset of the Minnesota map. I suggested that outstate ones be included when the map survey was being conducted.

[The Ghostbuster]

There is a public information meeting about a proposal to make improvements to the US 18/Hope Lake Rd. intersection on May 27th: https://www.wmtv15news.com/2025/05/14/wisdot-seeking-public-input-jefferson-co-us-18-intersection-project/. The project website is here: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/sw/us18-oakland/default.aspx; the location of the intersection is here: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0124407,-88.9936041,832m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDUxMy4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D. It does not appear that a roundabout will be constructed at this intersection.

[JREwing78]

A roundabout would probably cause more issues. The intersection itself doesn't seem to be deficient; it's the slight hill and the relatively sharp curve obscured by trees that keeps the pavement wet and shadowed. I'm curious to see how the friction treatment helps the situation.

[JREwing78]

County H just west of Janesville (a former state highway) is locally notorious for bad wrecks. This wouldn't normally be a newsworthy post, except in what was revealed about WisDOT future plans for the US-14 corridor.


Apparently the Rock County highway department will address the nasty wrecks at County H and County A next week by making it a 4-way stop. The only surprise here is that it took them this long to do it, honestly. 

High traffic on US-14 and County H, plus the slight curve to US-14, conspire to make navigating their intersection a challenge for County H drivers. 

What made this worth posting is the surprise news of WisDOT longish-term plans (in 2030) to convert US-14 at County H to a roundabout. Given the amount of (recent) work to widen the intersection and add turn lanes, this is a bit of a surprise. However, I can attest that those changes didn't really make it easier for County H traffic to cross US-14.

This is yet another indication that WisDOT is not interested at all in 4-laning US-14 between Oregon and Janesville. Between the roundabout at Hwy 92, the local traffic calming on the unofficial Evansville bypass (Bullard Rd and N Territorial Rd and Bullard Rd to Tolles Rd), and the lack of any movement to install passing lanes or other measures to improve throughput on US-14, the plan clearly is to make through travel on US-14 painful enough to redirect Janesville-to-Madison traffic back to I-39/90.

This also aligns with recent WisDOT plans to install multiple roundabouts on US-12/18 between Madison and Cambridge, another segment that it clearly doesn't want to build out as an expressway or freeway in the near future.

Maybe in another 30-40 years, the Madison sprawl forces WisDOT's hand, or Janesville inexplicably finds its GM plant replacement, and we might see a 4-lane US-14 take shape. But at this point, I wouldn't hold your breath.

https://www.wclo.com/2025/05/22/four-way-stop-signs-to-be-installed-at-intersection-of-county-a-county-h-west-of-janesville/

https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/sw/us14-countyh/default.aspx

[The Ghostbuster]

CTH H between STH 11 and STH 59 was STH 184 between 1947 and 1999: https://wisconsinhighways.org/listings/WiscHwys180-189.html#STH-184. They reverted it back to CTH H when STH 104 was extended northward from STH 59 east of Albany to STH 92 in Brooklyn.

[mrose]

WI-184 was always very narrow, with narrow shoulders as well. North of US 14 it gets very hilly and very curvy and at one point also gets close to the Rock River. Driving it was always a bit of an adventure.

[The Ghostbuster]

The Interstate 794 Lake Interstate Study has a PIM on Thursday at the Milwaukee Marriot Downtown hotel: https://www.794lakeinterchange.wisconsindot.gov/outreach#publicMeetings. As I have stated before, I hope the DOT goes for the freeway improvement alternative, and not the freeway removal alternative.

[dvferyance]

The new WISDOT map is out. I really like it. Very accurate and the freeways are back on The Beltline, Wis 11, and Wis 145. WisThere's a slight redesign and it looks good.

I was at the Kenosha Welcome Center. The new map is on the wall but the maps at the counter are still the 2023 edition.

[Great Lakes Roads]

The Interstate 794 Lake Interstate Study has a PIM on Thursday at the Milwaukee Marriot Downtown hotel: https://www.794lakeinterchange.wisconsindot.gov/outreach#publicMeetings. As I have stated before, I hope the DOT goes for the freeway improvement alternative, and not the freeway removal alternative.

4 alternatives from this study-

1. No-build
2. Replace in-kind- rebuild the bridges on the same/existing alignment
3. Freeway removal- removes the elevated freeway from the Marquette Interchange to the Hoan Bridge
4. Freeway improvement- makes the freeway alignment closer together

[Plutonic Panda]

Hopefully they keep the freeway.