Wisconsin...

Glossary
US 8:
US 8 is planned to be an expressway from Minnesota to US 53. The EIS will be complete in late 2004. US 8 is already a 4-lane expressway on the half-bypass of Cameron, from US 53 to CR SS / Old US 53.

History - St Croix to Cameron:

Date Activity
Fall 2001 and through 2002 Data gathering, focus groups, public information meeting, visioning workshops, preliminary engineering and environmental evaluations
Winter 2002-2003 Preliminary alternatives outlined
Early spring 2003 Public information meeting
Spring 2003 Final range of alternatives outlined
April 2004 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) distribution
Summer 2004 Public hearing
Late summer & fall 2004 Selection of recommended alternative
December 2004 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) distribution

 

US 10:
US 10 is being built as an expressway from Fremont to Marshfield. East of that, it is a freeway.

History:

Date Activity
October 1999 Construction started between Waupaca and WI 49 west of Fremont

 

US 12:
US 12 is an expressway east of Madison from I-39/90 to Cambridge. It is 4 lanes from Madison to North Star Rd, 1/2 mile east of CTH N (south of Cottage Grove). East of that, it is a Super-2. This is the first segment of the expressway which is planned to be extended as a Super-2 across to Elkhorn in various stages.

 

Construction Schedule - Lake Delton to Sauk City:

Segment Status
Lake Delton to I-90/94 Expressway complete.
I-90/94 to Baraboo Construction is expected to begin in the 2008-2010 timeframe.
Baraboo Bypass As part of an agreement with local governments and other agencies, planning will not begin until 2015.
Baraboo to Sauk City Part of this segment is already four lanes.
Sauk City Bypass As part of an agreement with local governments and other agencies, planning will not begin until 2020.

Construction Schedule - Sauk City to Middleton:

Segment Status
Sauk City to WI 78 not including Wisconsin River Bridge ROW bought from August 2000 to June 2002. Construction will begin in early 2004 and be complete in late 2004.
Wisconsin River Bridge ROW bought from August 2000 to June 2002. Construction began in 2002 and will be complete in November 2004.
WI 78 to CTH KP ROW was bought from June 2001 to June 2003. Construction began on August 20, 2003 and will be complete in November 2004.
CTH KP to WI 19 West ROW was bought from July 2000 to September 2001. Construction began in late spring 2002 and was completed in October 2003. Traffic will not be switched onto all the 4 lanes until late fall 2004 though, since it is expensive and dangerous to have short stretches of four lanes open, according to WisDOT.
WI 19 West to CTH K ROW was bought from October 2000 to October 2002. Construction began in spring 2003 and will be complete in  late fall 2005.
South of CTH K, US 12 will be built as a freeway. It will be complete in mid-2005.

Construction Schedule - Madison to Elkhorn:

Segment Status
I-39/90 to North Star Rd Complete October 1998
North Star Rd to Fort Atkinson Bypass Super-2 construction will begin in 2004
Fort Atkinson Bypass Currently being studied. Construction is slated to begin in the 2010-2012 timeframe.
Whitewater Bypass Construction started in 2002. The highway opened on August 5, 2005. The highway was built as a super-2 expressway, but may be expanded into a 4-lane freeway in the future.
Whitewater to Elkhorn Proposed, but no time frame yet

History - Sauk City to Middleton:

Date Activity
1991 US 12 Study Committee provides recommendations to Wisconsin State Legislature. The recommendations were to provide a four-lane divided highway, a Middleton bypass and a second bridge crossing to Sauk City. Over half of the public written responses obtained at the public informational meeting held in 1991 favored a four-lane improvement. Another 14 percent believed that some type of improvement was required but were concerned about the long-term effects of a four-lane highway. The remaining respondents opposed a four-lane improvement and favored no improvement at all or spot up-grades to the existing two-lane roadway.
1993 Public responses obtained during public informational meetings held in 1993 were similar to the 1991 written responses. US 12 project is enumerated by the state legislature, this allows WisDOT to spend funds set aside for major highway projects.
April 19, 1995 Draft EIS signed.
May 1995 Public hearings are held on the DEIS in Sauk City and Middleton.
1996 Public hearings on Supplemental Draft EIS are held in Sauk City and Middleton.
November 5, 1998 Final EIS approved by the Federal Highway Administration
1999 A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for US 12 is signed by all the major agencies involved in the project: governor, executives of Dane and Sauk counties, secretary of Wisconsin Department of Transportation, FHWA, National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Environmental Protection Agency, Wisconsin Deptartment of Natural Resources and the Nature Conservancy. MOA sets framework for mitigation measures.
March 29, 1999 Record of decision signed by FHWA, allowing the project to proceed.
1999-2001 Final Design

Map (click here):

 

Sources:
Craig Holl, Wisconsin DOT, Chris Bessert, Derron Kerr

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Last Updated: 3/25/06

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