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WIS 38 (County K - Oakwood Rd.) - Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

• Why is the WIS 38 corridor being re-evaluated, and what does that entail?
• What is the current project schedule?
• Who will make the final decision on the outcome of the WIS 38 re-evaluation?
• Which impacts will be analyzed under this re-evaluation, and how are they weighed?
• What importance does WIS 38 have within the transportation network?
• There has been work on WIS 38 in the last 5 years; didn't those projects fix the problem? If not, would additional spot improvement projects fix the problem?
• What is the expected pavement life of the 2010 resurfacing project?
• Current traffic on WIS 38 seems low. Is traffic growth anticipated, and how is that determined?
• Will traffic volumes on WIS 38 warrant expanding from 2 lanes to 4 lanes?
• What is the status of the Lake Parkway Extension study, and will that affect WIS 38?
• Can WIS 38 be routed onto other roadways, such as WIS 31?
• Is this an "all-or-nothing" approach to the corridor, or can the project be phased?
• What is the status of improvements on other north-south and east-west routes in the area?
• Can the existing 55mph posted speed on WIS 38 in Racine County be lowered as a way to improve safety?
• How can I find out more about the WIS 38 re-evaluation?

Why is the WIS 38 corridor being re-evaluated, and what does that entail?

The original study of the WIS 38 corridor was completed by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) in February 2007 with an environmental document approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Typically, when major project activities – such as design, right of way acquisition, or construction – have not commenced and when an environmental document is three or more years old, the department is required to re-evaluate that document before moving forward on the project.

The re-evaluation process determines whether the project purpose and need, environmental constraints, alternatives, impacts and proposed mitigation measures remain applicable, accurate and valid. It also determines whether there have been any significant changes in these factors or the associated regulations.

All alternatives from the original study, including the no-build (“do nothing”) alternative, as well as any new alternatives, will be re-evaluated and the impacts analyzed. The safety and traffic capacity of the alternatives will be analyzed as well. Public and agency input will be sought throughout the re-evaluation process.

What is the current project schedule?

The project is currently in the environmental documentation re-evaluation stage. Corridor analysis associated with this re-evaluation is expected to be completed by spring of 2013. If the re-evaluation results in the same preferred alternative as the original study, the re-evaluation is expected to be completed by summer 2013. If the re-evaluation results in a different alternative than the original study, a new environmental assessment will need to be prepared, extending the environmental documentation process into 2014 or 2015.

After environmental documentation is completed, there are several project phases to be completed before any construction could occur. These phases include detailed roadway and bridge design, real estate acquisition, utility relocation, and environmental agency coordination and permitting. Therefore, the earliest that construction would be anticipated is approximately 2020.

Who will make the final decision on the outcome of the WIS 38 re-evaluation?

At the end of the re-evaluation process, WisDOT will identify a recommended alternative and FHWA will make the final decision.

Which impacts will be analyzed under this re-evaluation, and how are they weighed?

The re-evaluation will review impacts on a number of elements for each of the various alternatives. Examples of these elements typically include:

• Total new right-of-way required for roadway purposes
• Displacements (residential, commercial, other)
• Agricultural impacts (agricultural land, number of farms)
• Environmental impacts (wetlands, environmental corridors, stream crossings, endangered species)
• Other impacts (property severances, access points, historic properties affected, archaeological sites affected, hazardous materials sites, major utilities, safety, traffic operations)
• Length of alternative (affects project cost, travel time along route)

There is no direct weighting system for impacts (e.g., property acquisitions are not necessarily “worth more” or "worth less" than wetlands). Alternatives will be developed to avoid or minimize impacts wherever possible. Impacts associated with each alternative will be quantified for comparison purposes as the re-evaluation progresses.

What importance does WIS 38 have within the transportation network?

WIS 38 is classified as an arterial. Arterial facilities emphasize traffic mobility rather than local access. They serve cities, large communities, and other major traffic generators providing both local and commuter traffic movements. In addition, WIS 38 is a National Highway System (NHS) Route in Racine County; the NHS includes the Interstate Highway System as well as other roads important to the nation’s economy, defense, and mobility.

The classification of roadways is important because it determines expectations for operations and design standards. Roadways with higher classifications need to be designed to higher standards to allow for better mobility. Also, because roadway deficiencies are correlated to safety issues, deficiencies can have a bigger impact on a higher class roadway. Exceptions to standards can sometimes be granted on substandard features, but they are usually for spot locations and where there are no safety issues associated with the substandard feature.

There has been work on WIS 38 in the last 5 years; didn’t those projects fix the problem? If not, would additional spot improvement projects fix the problem?

The recent projects were interim solutions and fixed some spot deficiencies. The major reconstruction project currently being re-evaluated is intended to be a long-range improvement plan for a safe and efficient highway. The WIS 38 roadway was originally constructed in the 1920s and has not been fully reconstructed since; this means the underlying pavement, as well as the design standards to which the roadway was built, are approximately 90 years old.

The WIS 38 intersections at 7 Mile Rd and Oakwood Rd were signalized in 2006, and a roundabout was built at the WIS 38/County K intersection in 2007. The 7 Mile Rd and County K intersection projects were in response to deficiencies at these particular locations, and corresponding safety problems. The Oakwood Rd intersection was improved to accommodate traffic from the new development at the northwest quadrant of the intersection.

A project in 2010 resurfaced WIS 38 from north of the County K roundabout to Oakwood Rd. This project overlaid the existing roadbed to enhance ride quality and incorporated minor intersection improvements where feasible without creating extensive impacts. The project was a short-term improvement until deficiencies can be corrected by the major WIS 38 project currently being re-evaluated.

These projects did minimal work to correct deficiencies throughout the corridor such as poor horizontal curves (turning right or left), poor vertical curves (hills and valleys), steep roadside slopes, inadequate sight lines, and limited passing opportunities. These deficiencies contribute to ongoing crash problems along the corridor and also reduce traffic mobility. Traffic by the year 2040 is anticipated to increase to levels which would result in difficult and unsafe access to homes and businesses, and increased traffic delays. The deficiencies and anticipated traffic growth are prevalent throughout the corridor. Therefore, additional spot improvement projects would not address the long-range purpose and need for the project.

What is the expected pavement life of the 2010 resurfacing project?

The anticipated pavement life of a mill & overlay project, such as the one done in 2010, is typically about 12 years from the time of construction. The 2010 resurfacing project was considered a short term improvement to address the deteriorated pavement until a viable full reconstruction alternative is determined.

The original pavement on WIS 38 was constructed in the 1920s, and has had five pavement overlays. The 2010 project analyzed whether the project should resurface or reconstruct WIS 38 at that time. It was determined that the 2010 overlay would be cost effective, but that future overlays would not be, and the roadway would need to be reconstructed after the resurfacing reaches the end of its life.

Current traffic on WIS 38 seems low. Is traffic growth anticipated, and how is that determined?

The current traffic volume ranges from 7,000 to 12,500 vehicles per day (vpd), except for the segment between 5 Mile Rd and 6 Mile Rd which is 5,000 vpd. It should be noted that existing counts can be skewed by construction, crashes, or special events on adjacent facilities.

Traffic forecasts are based on land use plans and traffic patterns associated with particular land uses; the forecasts are not directly tied with existing counts. The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC) prepared traffic forecasts in April 2012 for the no-build alternative. These forecasts indicated that, by the year 2040, without any improvements on WIS 38, traffic would grow to roughly 13,500 - 14,000 vehicles per day (vpd) from County K to 5 Mile Rd, 9,500 vpd between 5 Mile Rd and 6 Mile Rd, and 11,000 - 15,000 vpd along 6 Mile Rd and from 6 Mile Rd to Oakwood Rd.

The SEWRPC traffic forecasts are based on future land use and economic estimates developed by the State of Wisconsin, including population, employment, households, and personal income. This data is used to determine the volume of traffic expected to travel within and between various local and regional areas. WIS 38 serves as a regional facility and regional growth, in addition to local growth, drives the forecasted volumes. Traffic growth is therefore caused not only by new development within a given area, but also by development in the neighboring communities.

It should also be noted WisDOT roadways are designed to accommodate traffic 20 years beyond the construction date. The design year for WIS 38 is 2040, which is 28 years from now. Even relatively modest increases of less than 2% per year can result in substantial increases over 28 years.

Will traffic volumes on WIS 38 warrant expanding from 2-lanes to 4-lanes?

The general planning-level theoretical capacity of a 2-lane rural arterial highway is about 15,000 vehicles per day. WIS 38 is anticipated to be at or near this threshold by the year 2040. As traffic approaches this threshold, traffic delays substantially increase and access to/from side roads and driveways becomes difficult.

It is important to note that the 15,000 planning-level capacity is for roadways which meet current safety and design standards, and have limited access points such as side roads and driveways. WIS 38 has many deficiencies and access points, reducing the capacity of the roadway. Also, intersection operations often control the operation of the roadway in general. Therefore, a more detailed level of service analysis will be conducted during the re-evaluation to confirm capacity of the existing roadway.

System linkage and continuity are also important in assessing the need for four lanes. It is important to have consistent characteristics throughout the route. Short stretches of 2-lane highway amongst a generally 4-lane highway are undesirable from traffic mobility and driver expectation standpoints.

What is the status of the Lake Parkway Extension study, and will that affect WIS 38?

The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC) recently conducted a feasibility study of a potential six-mile extension of the Lake Parkway (WIS 794) from its current end point at Edgerton Avenue to WIS 100 (Ryan Road) in Milwaukee County. The study was prepared at the request of Milwaukee County and the cities of Cudahy, Oak Creek, St. Francis, and South Milwaukee.

The Lake Parkway Extension Study is separate from the WIS 38 re-evaluation. The WIS 38 re-evaluation team will monitor the status of the Lake Parkway Extension and any effects on WIS 38 accordingly. For more information, go to http://www.sewrpc.org/SEWRPC/Transportation/LakeParkwayExtensionStudy.htm.

If a Lake Parkway Extension were to be built, it could potentially lower the year 2040 forecasted traffic volumes on WIS 38 by approximately 2,000 vpd north of 6 Mile Road adn 500 vpd south of 6 Mile Road.

Can WIS 38 be routed onto other roadways, such as WIS 31?

In general, WisDOT prefers to provide motorists and other users parallel routes for travel instead of assigning two state routes along the same roadway.

Traffic modeling was performed to see how much traffic would follow the new route if WIS 38 were to be routed onto WIS 31. The modeling indicated the additional traffic on WIS 31 would warrant improving WIS 31, resulting in significant impacts along WIS 31 and the east-west roadways. In addition, the deficiencies would still remain on the curent WIS 38 roadway. Therefore, alternatives for routing WIS 38 onto WIS 31 were eliminated from further consideration.

If WIS 38 were to be routed along a new route, the "old WIS 38" portion of the existing roadway would be jurisdictionally transferred to the county or local municipality, who would then be responsible for the road’s maintenance.

Is this an “all-or-nothing” approach to the corridor, or can the project be phased?

It may be possible to phase the construction of the project, but the right-of-way for the ultimate corridor would be recommended as a result of this re-evaluation. This recommendation will assist local officials in making land use/development decisions within the corridor and will identify the corridor to be preserved for the future route, even if it isn’t all built at the same time. Options to phase the project will be considered during the re-evaluation.

What is the status of improvements on other north-south and east-west routes in the area?

The following are the routes in the SEWRPC 2035 Regional Transportation Plan which are recommended to be considered for improvements, in addition to the current WIS 38 project:

4 Mile Road from County H to WIS 32 is not shown in the SEWRPC plan as a route to be considered for improvements, nor does the Village of Caledonia have any plans at this time to expand the route.

Note that the information above refers to significant roadway reconstruction or expansion improvements. There may be periodic maintenance or resurfacing-type projects implemented on these and other routes in the region, as needed.

Can the existing 55 mph posted speed on WIS 38 in Racine County be lowered as a way to improve safety?

Speed limits are used to convey the permitted travel speed for a roadway under ideal conditions. Common sense says that regulating speed could make roadways safer.

However, driving behavior is not easy to manage, and achieving compliance with the speed limits is important for traffic safety and mobility.

Studies show that lowering speed limits has little effect on actual speeds, usually only reducing speeds by one to two miles per hour. If a speed limit is arbitrarily set, and if there is a lack of strong enforcement, motorists will travel at the speed with which they are comfortable. Some drivers may be comfortable at higher speeds than others, and this difference in speeds leads to increased crashes. For these reasons, it is important to set reasonable speed limits.

State statutes do not allow WisDOT to arbitrarily set speed limits on state highways. Speed limits are statutorily defined, but there is some flexibility to alter speed limits if supported by a speed study. In order to maximize safe and efficient travel, speed limits should be set within 5 mph of the 85th percentile speed, and no more than 2 mph less than the average operating speed. From 2003-2004, speed studies were conducted at 12 different times/locations along WIS 38 in Racine County:

These speed studies, and similar studies conducted along WIS 38 in the 1990s, reveal that traffic is in normal compliance to the speed limit, and indicate that the speed limit should remain at 55 mph.

How can I find out more about the WIS 38 re-evaluation?

All interested parties are encouraged to join the WIS 38 mailing list; doing so will ensure you are updated as future Public Information Meetings are planned. The project team will also attend smaller meetings (e.g. subdivision Homeowner’s Association Meetings) on request to better address a particular group’s concerns.

Please check the project website for updated FAQs and other information as the re-evaluation progresses and/or contact the project team directly:

Traci Gengler, P.E. Project Manager
WisDOT Southeast Regional Office
P.O. Box 798 Waukesha, WI 53187-0798
(262) 548-8727
traci.gengler@dot.wi.gov

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Questions about the content of this page, contact:
Lindsay Schmidt, ser.dtsd@dot.wi.gov
Last modified: March 11, 2013