Interstate 894

Interstate 894

Map of Milwaukee area with I-894 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by WisDOT
Length: 9.3 mi[3] (14.97 km)
Existed: 1963–1966 [1][2] – present
Major junctions
West end: I-94 / US 45 in Milwaukee, WI
  I-43 / US 45 in Hales Corners, WI
East end: I-43 / I-94 / US 41 in Milwaukee, WI
Highway system

Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System
Main • Auxiliary • Business

Wisconsin highways
County • Bannered • Rustic

← WIS 794 US 2 →

Interstate 894 (I-894) is a 9.3-mile (15.0 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway in Milwaukee County in the US state of Wisconsin. The route serves as a bypass (road) of downtown Milwaukee, connecting with I-94 at the Zoo Interchange west of downtown and the Mitchell Interchange south of downtown. The route is concurrent with two other highways for its duration, following US Highway 45 (US 45) from the Zoo Interchange to Hale Interchange, where it separates from US 45 to follow I-43 heading east to the Mitchell Interchange. It can be used to avoid downtown Milwaukee.

I-894 is part of what was proposed to be an extensive freeway network around the Milwaukee area. The Zoo Freeway portion was completed from Beloit Road northward in 1963, and the Airport Freeway and remaining segment of the Zoo Freeway were completed in 1966. I-43 was routed concurrently with I-894 in 1988.

Contents

Route description

I-894 begins at the Zoo Interchange in Milwaukee with I-94 and US 45. The highway heads south as part of the Zoo Freeway from this interchange concurrent with US 45. North of the Zoo Interchange, US 45 continues separately as the north part of the Zoo Freeway. I-894 enters West Allis before its first exit after the interchange; this first exit is a junction with Wisconsin Highway 59 (WI  59), known locally as Greenfield Avenue. After the first three exits, I-894 enters Greenfield. Further south, I-894 has interchanges with National Avenue, Oklahoma Avenue and Beloit Road. The Interstate turns eastward at the Hale Interchange in Hales Corners. US 45 turns westbound at that point to follow I-43 west, and I-43 follows I-894 to the east. The highway becomes the Airport Freeway and reenters Greenfield after the Hale Interchange. Westbound I-894 exits to WIS 24 (Forest Home Avenue) after the junction, though the eastbound highway only exits to a nearby local street. I-894 has two more exits after this and meets WIS 36 (Loomis Road) before reentering Milwaukee. It meets WIS 241 (South 27th Street) at exit 9 before terminating at the Mitchell Interchange with I-94, I-43 and US 41; I-43 continues northbound concurrent with I-94 and US 41.[4]

I-894 passes generally through residential areas for its entire length with the exception of a few commercial districts right next to the freeway.[5] The highway serves as a bypass of downtown Milwaukee. With the approximate distance traveled through downtown via I-94 at 11.8 miles (19.0 km), I-894 provides a shorter distance for travelers heading to Chicago or the Mitchell International Airport.[6] The Zoo Freeway portion as of 2007 carries at most 170,000 vehicles per day—with the highest values closer to the Zoo Interchange.[7] The Airport Freeway carries up to 134,000 vehicles per day.[8]

History

I-894 is only a part of an important history of the Milwaukee area's freeway system. The freeways that exist today are only a part of what the Milwaukee County Expressway Commission had hoped would be built by 1972.[9] The Zoo Freeway between Beloit Road and North Avenue was completed in 1963. At that time, the portion between Beloit Road and the Zoo Interchange was signed as I-894. The remainder of the Zoo freeway to the Hale Interchange was completed in 1966 when the Airport Freeway was constructed. US 45 was rerouted to the freeway, as was WIS 15 south of National Avenue.[1] (The Rock Freeway had also been constructed west to 108th Street at the time.[10]) The Airport Freeway was proposed to be routed to the also proposed Stadium Freeway South along Howard Avenue which is about 0.75 miles (1.21 km) north of the current alignment and named the Howard Avenue Expressway. The Airport Freeway construction was completed in 1966 to fully open I-894. Both freeways were slated to become part of the Interstate system in 1957, prior to their construction.[2] I-43 was signed along the Airport Freeway concurrently with I-894 in 1988 after being officially designated in 1987.[11] A remnant of the proposed Stadium Freeway remains connected to I-894 near WIS 36 as an unbuilt interchange. Its three completed ramps are closed to all traffic except buses, and the ramps provide access to a park-and-ride[12] The fourth ramp was demolished.[13]

Exit list

The entire route is in Milwaukee County.

Location Mile Exit[14] Destinations Notes
Milwaukee 0.00 1 US 45 north – Fond du Lac
I-94 – Downtown Milwaukee, Chicago, Madison		 Northern terminus and northern end of the US 45 concurrency at the Zoo Interchange; signed as exits 1A (I-94 east) and 1B (I-94 west) while the Zoo Freeway continues northward as US 45
West Allis 1D WIS 59 – Greenfield Avenue
1E Lincoln Avenue Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
2A National Avenue Eastbound exit to westbound National Ave only
Greenfield 2B Oklahoma Avenue Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
3 Beloit Road
Hales Corners 4 I-43 south / US 45 south – Beloit, Chicago Hale Interchange; western end of the I-43 concurrency
Greenfield 5A WIS 24 west – Forest Home Avenue Westbound only
5B South 76th Street Westbound only
5A-B South 76th Street, South 84th Street Eastbound only
7 South 60th Street
8 WIS 36 – Loomis Road
Milwaukee 9 WIS 241 – South 27th Street All entrances and exits are currently closed for construction; when opened, no access will be allowed to I-94 east
10A I-43 north / I-94 west / US 41 north – Milwaukee Eastbound exit ramp is currently closed for construction;
10B I-94 east / US 41 south – Chicago, [[General  Mitchell International Airport|Airport]] Eastern terminus at the Mitchell Interchange
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
     Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

References

  1. ^ a b Bessert, Chris (January 31, 2009). "Milwaukee Freeways: Zoo Freeway". Wisconsin Highways. http://www.wisconsinhighways.org/milwaukee/zoo.html. Retrieved March 7, 2009. 
  2. ^ a b Bessert, Chris (January 31, 2009). "Milwaukee Freeways: Airport Freeway". Wisconsin Highways. http://www.wisconsinhighways.org/milwaukee/airport.html. Retrieved March 7, 2009. 
  3. ^ Staff (October 31, 2002). "Route Log and Finder List—Table 2". Federal Highway Administration. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/routefinder/table2.cfm. Retrieved December 15, 2007. 
  4. ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation (January 2011) (PDF). Milwaukee Co (Map). 1:100,000. County Maps. Cartography by U.S. Geological Survey and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/maps/docs/counties/milwaukee.pdf. Retrieved July 19, 2011. 
  5. ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – Overview Map of I-894 (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Unknown+road&daddr=42.961353,-87.935643&hl=en&geocode=FRSGkAIdvKbA-g%3B&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=15&sll=42.96261,-87.941952&sspn=0.012876,0.038624&ie=UTF8&ll=42.98933,-87.984009&spn=0.102965,0.30899&t=h&z=12. Retrieved January 15, 2009. 
  6. ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – Route through Milwaukee via I-94, Zoo Interchange to Mitchell Interchange (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=43.026267,-88.037653&daddr=I-94+E+to:I-94+E&hl=en&geocode=%3BFRymkAIdCGPC-g%3BFRSIjwId8TbC-g&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=0&sz=15&via=1&sll=43.022533,-88.041172&sspn=0.012864,0.038624&ie=UTF8&ll=43.003894,-87.949677&spn=0.102941,0.30899&z=12. Retrieved January 15, 2009. 
  7. ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation (2007) (PDF). Milwaukee County Freeway System 2007 Mainline AADT Only Annual Average Daily Traffic (Map 2 of 3) (Map). http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/counts/docs/milwaukee/milwaukee-freeway2007-pt1.pdf. Retrieved March 7, 2008. 
  8. ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation (2007) (PDF). Milwaukee County Freeway System 2007 Mainline AADT Only Annual Average Daily Traffic (Map 3 of 3) (Map). http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/counts/docs/milwaukee/milwaukee-freeway2007-pt1.pdf. Retrieved March 7, 2008. 
  9. ^ Bechtel, George (1999). A History of Wisconsin Highway Development 1945–1985. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Department of Transportation. OCLC 20574213. 
  10. ^ Bessert, Chris (January 31, 2009). "Milwaukee Freeways: Rock Freeway". Wisconsin Highways. http://www.wisconsinhighways.org/milwaukee/rock.html. Retrieved March 7, 2009. 
  11. ^ Bessert, Chris (January 31, 2009). "Highways 400-894". Wisconsin Highways. http://www.wisconsinhighways.org/listings/WiscHwys400-894.html#I-894. Retrieved March 7. 2009. 
  12. ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – Greenfield Interchange (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=43.026267,-88.037653&daddr=I-94+E+to:I-94+E&hl=en&geocode=%3BFRymkAIdCGPC-g%3BFRSIjwId8TbC-g&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=0&sz=15&via=1&sll=43.022533,-88.041172&sspn=0.012864,0.038624&ie=UTF8&ll=42.963348,-87.962251&spn=0.006438,0.019312&t=h&z=16. Retrieved January 15, 2009. 
  13. ^ Bessert, Chris (January 31, 2009). "Milwaukee Freeways: Stadium Freeway". Wisconsin Highways. http://www.wisconsinhighways.org/milwaukee/stadium.html. Retrieved March 7, 2009. 
  14. ^ King, Randy (August 16, 2010). "Exit Numbers on Interstate 894". Wisconsin Department of Transportation. http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/road/exits-i894.htm. Retrieved July 19, 20011. 

External links