WIS 26 corridor EIS - Need/purpose

WIS 26 corridor

Environmental Impact Statement

Need/purpose

Selected alternatives

Maps

Contacts

WIS 26 corridor EIS - Need/purpose

Wisconsin Department of transportation (WisDOT) has identified four main reasons for studying the WIS 26 corridor:

The corridor is a route of national, state and regional importance.
- WIS 26 links major Wisconsin communities, including the cities of Milton, Jefferson and Watertown to the Fox River Valley, Rockford and other points south of Wisconsin.
- WIS 26 is located midway between the cities of Madison and Milwaukee and has been identified as a multi-lane connector route on WisDOT’s Corridors 2020 Plan.
The corridor is a route of local importance.
- WIS 26 provides mobility for residents within communities and serves area business, industry and agricultural needs for Rock, Jefferson and Dodge counties.
- The cities of Jefferson and Watertown have specifically requested bypass studies, while the city of Milton’s comprehensive plan recognizes the need for studying future expansion and bypass alternatives.
The corridor has growing traffic with capacity and crash problems.
- Current or projected traffic volumes, as well as truck traffic, exceed the threshold for consideration of a four-lane highway.
- Accommodating future traffic growth on narrow roadways in older, historic areas of cities is problematic.
- Crash problems in the urban areas of Jefferson, Johnson Creek and Watertown exceed statewide average crash rates in those areas.
The corridor needs to be preserved.
- As the principal north-south route in Jefferson and Dodge counties, WIS 26 serves important regional transportation functions that need to be preserved. Future development may interfere with reasonable bypass options so it is important to plan now and preserve a transportation corridor.
- As part of the study, WisDOT will plan for limited access and encourage local governments to coordinate land use planning.