Route information | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Maintained by WisDOT | ||||
Length | 289.11 mi[1] (465.28 km) | |||
Major junctions | ||||
WIS 25 in Menomonie US 53 in Lake Hallie US 51 in Wausau WIS 22 near Shawano US 41 in Green Bay | ||||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Wisconsin | |||
Highway system | ||||
|
- For the pre-1926 Highway 29, see Highway 29 (Wisconsin 1917).
State Trunk Highway 29 (often called Highway 29, STH 29 or WIS 29) is a Wisconsin state highway running east-west across central Wisconsin. It is a major east-west corridor connnecting the Twin Cities with Wausau and Green Bay. A multi-year project to upgrade the corridor to a four-lane freeway/expressway from Elk Mound to Green Bay was recently completed in 2005.
Route description
The western terminus of Highway 29 is at U.S. Route 10, just north of Prescott.[2]
From this point, Highway 29 follows WIS 35 northeast to River Falls before splitting east toward Menomonie. The route joins U.S. Route 12 at that point and continues east to its junction with Interstate 94 in Elk Mound where US 12 splits off to the southeast and the four lane corridor begins.[2] After about four miles with cross-traffic, the route bypasses Chippewa Falls to the south as a Freeway and crosses U.S. Route 53 in Lake Hallie.[3]
East of Chippewa Falls, the route bypasses small towns and villages eastbound towards Abbotsford and Wausau, utilizing a mix of at-grade intersections and diamond interchanges.[2]
The route becomes a full freeway four miles west of Wausau, and joins U.S. Route 51 for two miles south before splitting and continuing east toward Green Bay. The freeway section ends at Ringle and cross-traffic resumes at that point. Another stretch of freeway begins just west of Shawano after the intersection with CTH MMM and continues around Shawano and Bonduel to CTH BE.[4][5]
The four-lane corridor ends at U.S. Route 41 in Green Bay, and WIS 29 passes through downtown Green Bay before continuing east to Kewaunee where it ends at WIS 42 on the shores of Lake Michigan.[2]
Major cities[2] |
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History
Prior to 1926, Highway 29 was numbered Highway 116 from Minnesota to Chippewa Falls, Highway 16 from Chippewa Falls to Bellevue, and Highway 146 from Bellevue to Kewaunee. Highway 16 continued southeast from Bellevue along what became U.S. Highway 141 in 1926 to Manitowoc. What had been Highway 29 before 1926 became U.S. Highway 16 across the state.[6]
Highway 29 has long been known as "Bloody 29[7] " and "Death Alley" because of the prevalence of grisly fatal traffic crashes along significant portions of the highway. In 1988, a study was commissioned to examine upgrading the highway to a 4-lane divided highway. The changes would be made along 203 miles of road from I-94, 2 miles west of Elk Mound, to US 41 in Howard (suburban Green Bay). The final segment of the highway, connecting the east side of Chippewa Falls with the segment running north of Eau Claire, was opened to traffic on August 16, 2005. Of the total length, approximately 65 miles of the highway meets Interstate standards.[8] Most of the expansion was able to be completed with only minor additions to the already-existing easements, and as a result, the expanded roadway almost exactly matches the highway's original course. While traffic crashes have declined significantly, numerous memorials to those who lost their lives on the road still dot the route.
Highway 29 is the only Wisconsin state highway in WisDOT's Corridors 2020 Backbone Routes system.[1]
Current status
Highway 29 is currently undergoing upgrades in Wausau as a part of the US 51/WIS 29 project.[9] This project will expand the portions of Highway 29 that are co-signed with US 51 from 4 lanes to 6 lanes and reconstruct interchanges along the route. The southern interchange where Highway 29 turns east off from US 51 was completed in late 2006. The northern end of the project will take four years and be completed in 2010.[9]
Exit List
Elk Mound to Green Bay
County | Location | Mile[10] | #[11] | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
WIS 29 west along with US 12 west continue as a 2-lane road to Menomonie | |||||
Dunn | Elk Mound | 61.64 | none | I-94 - Madison, St Paul | Shown here as a terminus to the 4-lane expressway. WIS 29 is surface street here with a combo diamond/trumpet interchange with I-94. |
61.85 | 61 | US 12 - Colfax, Elk Mound |
follow West. | ||
Chippewa | Chippewa Falls | 70.71 | 69 | CTH T | |
73.67 | 72 | Business WIS 29 - 90th Ave |
|||
77.84 | 75 | US 53 - Eau Claire, Superior | Cloverleaf interchange | ||
79.88 | 79 | Business WIS 29, WIS 178 - Chippewa Falls |
Seymour Cray Sr Blvd use Exit 79 | ||
Lake Wissota | 82.79 | 80 | CTH X - Lake Wissota State Park | Westbound entrance; Eastbound exit only | |
84.17 | 81 | CTH J - Lake Wissota | Westbound exit; Eastbound entrance only | ||
89.79 | 87 | CTH X - Lake Wissota State Park | Lake Wissota State Park is not listed on the eastbound signs. | ||
Cadott | 93.32 | 91 | WIS 27 - Cadott, Augusta | ||
Boyd | 98.99 | 97 | CTH D - Boyd | ||
Stanley | 103.84 | 101 | CTH H, CTH X - Stanley | ||
Clark | Thorp | 110.58 | 108 | WIS 73 North, CTH M - Thorp |
|
Withee | 120.61 | 108 | WIS 73 South, CTH T - Withee, Neillsville |
||
Owen | 122.63 | 117 | CTH D - Owen, S. Paul Ave | at-grade intersection | |
123.65 | 118 | CTH X - Owen, Cardinal Ave | |||
Curtiss | 128.66 | 127 | CTH E - Curtiss | ||
Abbotsford | 133.34 | 131 | Business WIS 29 - Abbotsford |
Hiline Ave use Exit 131 - Eastbound exit; Westbound entrance only | |
Marathon | 135.03 | 132 | WIS 13 - Colby, Abbotsford | Marshfield, Medford use Exit 132 | |
136.57 | 134 | Business WIS 29 - Abbotsford |
Maple Rd use Exit 134 - Eastbound entrance; Westbound exit only | ||
138 | CTH F - Cherokee | At-grade intersection | |||
Wien | 145 | WIS 97 - Athens, Marshfield | Stratford use Exit 145 | ||
147 | CTH M - Wien | At-grade intersection | |||
Edgar | 150 | CTH H - Edgar | |||
152 | CTH S - Rib Falls | At-grade intersection | |||
Marathon City | 156 | WIS 107 - Marathon City | |||
Wausau | 156 | 72nd Ave | |||
164[12] | WIS 52 - Wausau | WIS 52 begins at this point - WIS 29 follows this road to interchange with US 51.[9] | |||
165 | US 51 - Merrill |
||||
East follow South | |||||
166 | 191 | Sherman Street | Northbound exit; Southbound entrance only. | ||
Rib Mountain | 167 | 190 | CTH NN - North Mountain Rd | . | |
169 | 188 | CTH N - Rib Mountain Dr | |||
West follow North | |||||
170 | I-39, US 51 - Stevens Point, Madison |
Westbound only | |||
Rothschild | 171 | Business US 51 - Rothschild, Schofield |
|||
Weston | 173 | CTH X - Weston, Camp Phillips Rd. | |||
177 | CTH J - Weston | ||||
Ringle | 181 | CTH Q - Ringle | |||
Hatley | 186 | CTH Y - Hatley | |||
Elderon | 191 | WIS 49 South - Elderon |
|||
Shawano | Wittenberg | 195 | US 45 North, Business WIS 29, CTH M - Antigo, Wittenberg |
||
196 | Business WIS 29, CTH Q - Wittenberg |
Eastbound entrance; Westbound exit only | |||
198 | US 45 South, Business WIS 29, CTH Q - Clintonville, Wittenberg |
||||
204 | CTH J - Bowler, Tigerton | At-grade intersection | |||
Telleda | 209 | CTH D North- Telleda |
At-grade intersection | ||
210 | CTH G South |
At-grade intersection | |||
212 | CTH D South - Leopolis, Pella |
At-grade intersection | |||
Thornton | 217 | CTH U - Gresham | At-grade intersection | ||
222 | WIS 29 Business, CTH MMM - Shawano |
At-grade intersection | |||
Shawano | 225 | WIS 22, CTH CC - Shawano, Clintonville | |||
227 | WIS 47 & WIS 55 North, Business WIS 29, CTH K - Shawano |
follow East | |||
Bonduel | 234 | WIS 47, WIS 117 - Bonduel, Appleton |
|||
237 | CTH BE - Bonduel | At-grade intersection - Formerly Highway 29 | |||
Angelica | 239 | CTH F | At-grade intersection | ||
242 | WIS 55, WIS 160 - Pulaski, Seymour |
Angelica use Exit 242 | |||
Brown | Pittsfield | 248 | WIS 156 - Pittsfield | At-grade intersection | |
Oneida | 249 | WIS 32, CTH V - Pulaski, Gillett |
follow East | ||
251 | CTH U | At-grade intersection | |||
Green Bay | 252 | CTH C - Marley St | At-grade intersection | ||
255 | Greenfield Ave | At-grade intersection | |||
257 | CTH EB - Packerland Dr | At-grade intersection | |||
259 | none | US 41 - Marinette, Appleton | Shown here as a terminus to the 4-lane expressway. WIS 29 is surface street here with a diamond interchange with the US 41 Freeway. | ||
WIS 32 follows US 41 south. |
Future plans
WisDOT is studying options for Highway 29 conversions to Interstate standards in three sections.
The section between I-94 and County Highway X's eastern exit is already designated as a freeway by WisDOT - despite the existence of several at-grade intersections between U.S. Highway 53 and I-94. WisDOT is studying options for upgrade of these intersections as part of the study. In addition, upgrades to the I-94 interchange with Highway 29 are also being considered. WisDOT is also studying options for upgrades to the highway to a freeway further east to Bruce Mound Ave. in Clark County.[8]
The second section - between Wittenberg (U.S. Highway 45) and Green Bay (U.S. Highway 41) is also undergoing a study for planned upgrades of the highway to freeway standards. As it stands now, the Shawano bypass is the only section that is a freeway. The study is geared toward upgrading the rest of the section to Interstate standards.[13]
The third section - between Ringle (County Highway X) and Wittenberg (U.S. Highway 45) is at the preliminary stages for freeway upgrades. WisDOT is currently focusing on preserving right of way access for future ugrades.[14]
To date, WisDOT has no published plans for the segments from Bruce Mound Ave. to Abbotsford (Badger Ave.) and from Abbotsford to Wausau (72nd Ave.)
References
- ^ a b Bessert, Chris. "Wisconsin Highways: Highways 20-29 (Highway 29)". Wisconsin Highways. Retrieved 2007-03-20. Cite error: The named reference "WH1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b c d e The Rand McNally Road Atlas (Map). Rand McNally & Company.
{{cite map}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Lake Hallie, Chippewa, Wisconsin, United States - Google Maps (Map). Cartography by NAVTEQ. Google. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
- ^ Lake Hallie, Chippewa, Wisconsin, United States - Google Maps (Map). Cartography by NAVTEQ. Google. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
- ^ Lake Hallie, Chippewa, Wisconsin, United States - Google Maps (Map). Cartography by NAVTEQ. Google. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
- ^ Bessert, Chris. "Wisconsin Highways: Highways 10-19 (Highway 16)". Wisconsin Highways. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
- ^ Groves, Ethnie (2005-08-15). "Governor Doyle Officially Opens Final Segment of WIS 29 Expansion Project". Wisconsin Office of the Governor. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
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(help) - ^ a b Wisconsin Department of Transportation. "WIS 29 Freeway Conversion Study". Retrieved 2007-06-10.
- ^ a b c Wisconsin Department of Transportation. "US-51/WI-29 Project". Retrieved 2007-06-10.
- ^ DeLorme Street Atlas USA (2007). Toggle Measure Tool. Retrieved on 2007 June 14.
- ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation. "Exit Numbers on WIS 29". Retrieved 2007-06-10.
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(help) - ^ This exit number originally was 164 and the sign read 28th ave. The signs were removed in spring 2006 when construction began on the interchange
- ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation (2005). "Project Newsletter - Wis 29 Preservation Plan: Wittenberg to Green Bay" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-06-10.
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ignored (help) - ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation. "WisDOT schedules WIS 29 public information meeting". Retrieved 2007-06-10.