Wisconsin...

Glossary
US 151:
South of Madison, US 151 is an expressway from north of WI 11 to Dickeyville and from Mineral Point to Verona with the exceptions of the bypasses of Mineral Point, Dodgeville, and Mt. Horeb, which are freeways. Near Madison, US 151 is an expressway from County Route PD east of Verona to the Beltline. There are plans to rebuild this as a depressed freeway. This stretch has lots of traffic lights and has at least one private access to it. North of Madison, US 151 is an expressway from I-39/90/94 to Sun Prairie and on the segments between to freeway-grade bypasses of Columbus, Beaver Dam, and Waupun.

History - General Dates - Dickeyville to Mineral Point:

Date Activity
1992 Planning began for completion of US 151 expressway between Mineral Point and Dickeyville
1994 and 1996 Corridor plan enumerated by the state legislature
1998 Design began

History - by Segment:

Segment Status
South of Dickeyville Complete (Date?)
Dickeyville to Platteville Construction will begin in 2004 and be complete in 2005. This section will have a limited number of driveways.
Platteville to Belmont Will be built as a freeway
Belmont to Mineral Point Construction began in 2002 and was completed in 2003.
Mineral Point to Dodgeville Complete November 2002.
Dodgeville to CTH P east of Mt. Horeb Completed in various stages between 1980 and 1989.
CTH P to the Verona Bypass Complete in 1992
I-39/90/94 to Sun Prarie Complete (Date?)
Columbus to Beaver Dam Complete (Date?)
Beaver Dam to Waupan Complete (Date?)
Waupan to WI 26 Construction began in spring 2002 and will end in fall 2003.
WI 26 to Thill Rd Construction began in spring 2003 and will end in fall 2004.
Thill Rd to CTH D Construction will begin in spring 2004 and end in fall 2005.
CTH D intersection ROW purchase will began in Early 2003. Construction will begin in spring 2005.
From CTH D, the new expressway leaves the existing alignment and heads east, meeting up with WI 175 just south of its interchange with US 41. ROW purchase will begin in early 2004. Construction will begin in spring 2006 and will be completed in spring 2008.
WI 175 to US 41 Construction will begin in spring 2004 and will be complete in spring 2005.
Fond du Lac Bypass - The new east-side bypass of Fond du Lac will be a 4-lane expressway from US 41 to WI 23 and a Super-2 expressway north of WI 23. Construction on the Super-2 segment will started in late August 2002 and was completed on Novmeber 12, 2003. Construction of the 4-lane segment started in fall 2003 and will be complete in fall 2005.

The expressway between Dodgeville and CTH P east of Mt. Horeb was The segment from CTH P to the Verona Bypass was complete in 1992. Segment from Waupun to Fond du Lac will be complete by 2007.

Junction Log - Segment Near Madison:

Junction Type of Access
The interchange at the Beltline Diamond which carries traffic far exceeding its capacity.

Junction Log (Future) - Fond du Lac Bypass (Incomplete):

Junction Type of Access
US 41 Diamond with US 41 as the thru route.
WI 23 Diamond with US 151 as the thru route.

Maps:

  • WI 49 to WI 26
  • WI 26 to Thill Rd
  • Thill Rd to CTH D
  • Fond du Lac Bypass

 

WI 794 - Lake Parkway:
WI 794 serves as a southern extension of I-794 on the south side of Milwaukee. The highway was built as an expressway because, while the local people wanted a new highway in the corridor, they were opposed to a high-speed freeway. In addition, build WI 794 as an expressway saved a lot of money. There is only one traffic light on the expressway, and the low speed limit of 40 or 45 mph seems unwarrented. Yet if the speed limit wasn’t this low, the highway might not have been built due to resident opposition. One substandard feature along the expressway is that there is no left-hand inside shoulder. Giving some credit to being called a parkway, the median is made of decorative bricks and curbing.

Junction Log:
The one traffic light on the expressway is at the Oklahoma Ave ramps. Including an interchange here would’ve cost a lot since WI 794 was built next to an active rail line in this area. This signal also serves to make the residents happy by slowing down traffic.

 

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

Disclaimer

Last Updated: 1/3/04

Comments:
Please send any comments, suggestions, corrections, additional information or pictures about this page to: