U.S. Route 41 in Wisconsin

U.S. Highway 41

US 41 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by WisDOT
Existed: 1926 – present
Major junctions
South end: US 41 on the Illinois Border in Pleasant Prairie
 

I-94 in Pleasant Prairie
I-43 in Milwaukee
US 45 in Milwaukee
US 151 in Fond du Lac
US 45 in Oshkosh

US 10 near Menasha
US 141 in Green Bay
North end: US 41 on the Michigan border in Marinette
Highway system

United States Numbered Highways
List • Bannered • Divided • Replaced

Wisconsin highways
County • Bannered • Rustic

← WIS 40 WIS 41 →

In the U.S. state of Wisconsin, U.S. Highway 41 (Highway 41, US-41) runs north–south the eastern side of the state. It enters from Illinois (concurrently with I-94) at Pleasant Prairie, and runs north to its northern terminus at the Michigan border at Marinette, WI.

Contents

Route description

US-41 is a freeway for nearly 70% of its route through Wisconsin, with the exceptions being a stretch in Milwaukee (Lisbon and Appleton avenues) and an expressway section north of Green Bay. South of Milwaukee, the route is concurrent with I-94 all the way to the Illinois border.

US-41 leaves Milwaukee to the northwest and passes Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, and Appleton before heading to Green Bay. The route is a major access point for Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers Major League Baseball club, the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh air show in Oshkosh, and for Lambeau Field, the home of the Green Bay Packers NFL football team.

After leaving Green Bay, US 41 continues north to Abrams co-signed with US 141, and then it turns east off the co-signed route toward Marinette and into Michigan.

History

In Milwaukee the original routing of US 41 used Lisbon Avenue east to North 27th Street, then south along that road to the Illinois state line. After the Stadium Freeway was built in the 1960s, US 41 followed that road from Lisbon Avenue south across I-94 to National Avenue and then east to 27th Street, which is known as Layton Boulevard between National Avenue and Lincoln Avenue. WisDOT rerouted US 41 along I-94 from the Stadium Interchange to the Illinois state line, removed Layton Boulevard north of Forest Home Avenue from the state highway system and gave Layton Boulevard and 27th Street south of Forest Home Avenue the designation of WIS 241 in a compromise to avoid expansion of the original route. The old US 41 freeway section south of I-94 to National Avenue (which was realigned to accommodate the construction of Miller Park) was designated WIS 341 but is unsigned. Trailblazer signs indicate it as Miller Park Way.

By 1955, US 41 was relocated from the corridor of today's WIS 175 and its successors to a nearby expressway in Winnebago, Fond du Lac, Dodge, Washington, Waukesha, and Milwaukee Counties.[1]

In Green Bay, the road used to make a curve to the right west of De Pere, going onto Ashland Avenue to the Green Bay city limits. It then turned left onto Highland Avenue (after 1968, Lombardi Avenue), going past Lambeau Field and curving right onto Military Avenue. It then turned left at Velp Avenue. At the time, this was the outer highway for Green Bay, and the site for Lambeau Field was chosen because of highway access. The area now is urbanized. It then followed present day Velp Avenue north to Suamico where it merged with what is now the US 41 freeway. The original Green Bay bypass was once again bypassed with the present US 41 freeway beginning at Velp, southerly to Lombardi in 1968; Velp north to Suamico in 1971; then from Lombardi south to De Pere in 1974.[1]

Appleton also saw its fair share of US 41 realignments over the course of time, beginning with the 1937 two-lane bypass (along the present freeway route) from Neenah northerly to a T-intersection with US 10 (today's Wisconsin Avenue, WIS 96). There, US 41 turned east with US 10, back to its original route at the intersection of US 10 (Wisconsin Avenue) and Richmond Street north of downtown Appleton, then north on Richmond to present day Northland Avenue. There it turned east on new alignment back to the original route northeast of Kaukauna. In 1940, US 41 was extended northerly from the T-intersection at US 10 for one mile (1.6 km), before making a large sweeping curve onto present day Northland Avenue to join back up with the previous bypass at Richmond Street. By 1962, the original Appleton bypass had been converted to four-lane divided highway from Oshkosh north to Northland Avenue, then north and east on new alignment bypassing the Northland Avenue bypass with the current freeway easterly to Kaukauna.

Current status

US 41 is either undergoing major construction, or in the planning stages for future construction, between Milwaukee and Green Bay to upgrade it to Interstate standards. Currently, interchange upgrades are also underway on US 41 near Fond du Lac, Oshkosh and Green Bay. Between now and 2015, US 41 will undergo capacity upgrades through the Oshkosh and Green Bay areas, converting the existing four-lane freeway to a six-lane freeway in both cities. US 41 has also been upgraded to 4-lane expressway between Oconto and Peshtigo, which includes freeway bypasses of both cities. The Oconto-to-Peshtigo stretch had been the final two-lane segment of US 41 in the state, and opened as a four-lane expressway between the two cities as of November 2008. The Oconto and Peshtigo bypasses were completed November 19, 2009. At present, US 41 is constructed to freeway standards from the north side of Milwaukee, all the way north to the US 41/141 interchange in south-central Oconto County, approximately 19 miles (31 km) north of Green Bay.

Future

Wisconsin Department of Transportation officials are studying what improvements need to be made to U.S. Route 41 in order for it to be upgraded to Interstate status.[2] Necessary upgrades must be made before any signage changes can happen, but the 142 miles (229 km) route from Milwaukee to Green Bay is expected to be designated as a new interstate Highway, initially proposed as Interstate 41.[2][3]  The legislation was added to the 2005 federal highway bill (Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users) by Congressman Tom Petri. Gannett Wisconsin newspapers reviewed the state traffic records, and found that the number of cars traveling on 41 in northeast Wisconsin has nearly doubled since 1994.[2] It is unknown if the US 41 shields will remain if I-41 signs are posted after the reconstruction is complete.[4]

In 2009, Green Bay, Wisconsin officials have begun a campaign to have US 41 designated as a northern extension of I-55 from its current termination in Chicago. A section of US 41 in Wisconsin is in the process of being reclassified as an Interstate Highway. Some officials in the state feel that designating US 41 as an interstate would bring additional attention and revenue to the area.[3] The alternative is designating the road as a spur of I-43.[5][6]

Two expansion projects are scheduled. The first upgrades the old rural freeway west of Green Bay from CTH F (Scheuring Rd) past I-43 to CTH M (Lineville Rd) to a six-lane road with the rebuilding of all interchanges along the corridor; including a free-flow interchange with WIS 29.[7] The second is an expansion of the highway from WIS 26 to Breezewood Lane around Oshkosh from 4 to 6 lanes - including rebuilds of 9 interchanges and the Lake Butte des Morts causeway.[8][9] The bridge over Lake Butte des Morts is scheduled to be expanded to eight lanes.[9] The second plan has a $292 million budget, and is scheduled to include two additional park and ride lots at State Highways 26 and 76.[9] As of May 2011, the upgrades to interstate level are anticipated to be completed by 2015 and cost between $15 - 20 million.[3]

Studies are also underway on upgrading the US 41/US 10/WIS 441 interchange in the Neenah area. Currently, the interchange is missing the US 10 Eastbound to US 41 Northbound, and US 41 Northbound to US 10 Westbound ramp movements. This study is focusing on ways to reconstruct this interchange to allow all ramp movements.

Exit list

County Location Mile #[10] Destinations Notes
See Interstate 94
Milwaukee Milwaukee 38B I-94 west – Madison North end of I-94 overlap
Miller Park Way (WIS 341 south)
38C US 18 (Wisconsin Avenue, Blue Mound Road) / Wells Street
39A State Street, Vliet Street
39B Washington Boulevard Northbound exit only
40A Lloyd Street Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Gap in freeway along Lisbon Avenue and Appleton Avenue
WIS 175 north (Appleton Avenue) Northbound exit and southbound entrance
US 45 south / WIS 100 south South end of US 45/WIS 100 overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance
47B Good Hope Road
48 WIS 145
Waukesha Menomonee Falls 50 WIS 74 west / WIS 100 east (Main Street) North end of WIS 100 overlap; signed as exits 50A (east) and 50B (west)
51 Pilgrim Road Signed as exits 51A (north) and 51B (south)
52 CTH-Q (County Line Road)
Washington Germantown 54 WIS 167 east (Mequon Road) / CTH-Y (Lannon Road) South end of WIS 167 overlap
57 WIS 167 west (Holy Hill Road) North end of WIS 167 overlap
Richfield 59 US 45 north – West Bend North end of US 45 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance
60 CTH-FD to WIS 145 Exit 60 signage reads WIS 145; ramp signage reads CTH FD TO WIS 145
Slinger 64 WIS 60 – Jackson, Slinger, Hartford Two exits northbound: 64A (east) - Jackson and 64B (west) - Slinger, Hartford
One exit southbound 64A-B - Slinger, Jackson
66 WIS 144 – West Bend, Slinger West Bend not signed Southbound
Addison 68 CTH-K
Allenton 72 WIS 33 / CTH-W – West Bend, Allenton Horicon, Beaver Dam use Exit 72
Wayne 76 CTH-D
Dodge Theresa Station 81 WIS 28 – Mayville, Kewaskum Theresa use Exit 81
Lomira 85 WIS 67 – Lomira, Campbellsport
Brownsville 87 WIS 49 / CTH-KK – Brownsville, Waupun
Fond du Lac Hamilton 92 CTH-B – Oakfield, Eden
Fond du Lac 95 US 151 – Madison, Manitowoc Waupun use Exit 95
97 CTH-VVV (Hickory Street)
98 CTH-D (Military Road) Former US 151
99 WIS 23 (Johnson Street) Ripon use Exit 99 (Northbound only)
North Fond du Lac 101 CTH-OO (Winnebago Street)
Winnebago Oshkosh 106 CTH-N
113 WIS 26 / CTH-N – Rosendale
116 WIS 44 / WIS 91 (South Park Avenue) Berlin use Exit 116
117 9th Avenue
119 WIS 21 (Omro Road, Oshkosh Avenue) Omro use Exit 119
120 US 45 (Algoma Boulevard) to US 10 west Stevens Point, New London use Exit 120 (Northbound only)
To US-10 West not signed Southbound
124 WIS 76 (Jackson Street)
Neenah 129 Bell Street, Breezewood Lane
131 WIS 114 / CTH-JJ (Winneconne Avenue)
132 Main Street, Oak Ridge Road No entrance ramps
133 CTH-II (Winchester Road)
134 US 10 east / WIS 441 north Menasha use Exit 134
US 10 west Southbound exit and entrance only
136 CTH-BB (Prospect Avenue)
Outagamie Appleton 137 WIS 125 (College Avenue)
138 WIS 96 (Wisconsin Avenue) Fremont use Exit 138 (Southbound only)
139 WIS 15 / CTH-OO (Northland Avenue) to CTH-A To CTH-A not signed Southbound
142 WIS 47 (Richmond Street) Black Creek, Shawano use Exit 142
144 CTH-E (Ballard Road)
145 WIS 441 south
Little Chute 146 CTH-N – Little Chute Kimberly, Combined Locks use Exit 146
Kaukauna 148 WIS 55 – Seymour, Kaukauna
150 CTH-J – Kaukauna
Brown Sniderville 154 CTH-U – Wrightstown
Little Rapids 157 CTH-S – Freedom
De Pere 161 CTH-F (Scheuring Road)
163A CTH-G (Main Avenue) Signed as exit 163 southbound
163B
US 41 Bus. north (Ashland Avenue) – Green Bay		 Northbound exit and southbound entrance
164 CTH-AAA (Oneida Street, Waube Lane)
Ashwaubenon 165 WIS 172 to I-43 / WIS 57 – A. Straubel Airport To WIS 57 not signed Northbound
167 CTH-VK (Lombardi Avenue) Main exit to reach Lambeau Field
Green Bay 168 WIS 32 south / WIS 54 (Mason Street) South end of WIS 32 overlap
New London use Exit 168
169 WIS 29 (Shawano Avenue) / WIS 32 north / Dousman Street North end of WIS 32 overlap
Shawano use Exit 169
170
US 141 south / US 41 Bus. south (Velp Avenue)		 South end of US 141 overlap
Howard 171 I-43 south – Milwaukee Sturgeon Bay, Algoma use Exit 171
173 CTH-M (Lineville Road)
Suamico 176 CTH-B (Sunset Beach Road) – Suamico
Oconto Sobieski 179 Brown Road
182 CTH-S
Abrams 185 CTH-D (Sampson Road) – Abrams
187 US 141 north - Crivitz, Iron Mountain North end of US 141 overlap
Freeway Ends
Brookside CTH-J At-Grade Intersection
Brookside use CTH J North
Pensaukee CTH-SS At-Grade Intersection. Pensaukee
Oconto 197
US 41 Bus. – Oconto		 Northbound exit, Southbound entrance only
198 WIS 22 south – Oconto Oconto Falls use exit 198
200
US 41 Bus. – Oconto		 Northbound entrance, Southbound exit only
To CTH S
Lena CTH-A At-Grade Intersection
Two intersections. Southern intersection is CTH A East
Northern intersection is CTH A West to Lena.
Marinette County Line CTH-W At-grade intersection
County Line(town) use CTH W East
Grover CTH-M At-Grade Intersection
Coleman
Peshtigo 212
US 41 Bus. (French Street) / CTH-Y to CTH-D – Peshtigo
216
US 41 Bus. (Haynes Street) to CTH-B – Peshtigo
Marinette 219 CTH-T north to WIS 180 to WIS 64 At-grade Intersection
WIS 64 west (Hall Avenue) – Mountain, Pound At-grade Intersection

References

  1. ^ a b Bessert, Christopher J. (Jaunary 31, 2009). "US 41, The Complete History". Wisconsin Highways. http://www.wisconsinhighways.org/indepth/US-41_history.html. Retrieved December 14, 2006. 
  2. ^ a b c Jones, Ben (2006-12-18). "‘Interstate 41’ on near horizon". Appleton Post Crescent. http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200661217022. Retrieved 2006-12-19. 
  3. ^ a b c Byrne, Kristin. ""Interstate" 41 Would Ignite Economic Growth, Governor Says: Updated". WBAY-TV. http://www.wbay.com/story/14565596/2011/05/03/governor-sets-sights-on-interstate-41. Retrieved 4 May 2011. 
  4. ^ Behnke, Duke (July 2, 2010). "U.S. 41 expansion meets interstate standards". Appleton Post-Cresent. http://www.postcrescent.com/article/99999999/APC0101/709060619/U-S-41-expansion-meets-interstate-standards. Retrieved July 2, 2010. 
  5. ^ Jagannathan, Malavika (2009-02-08). "Officials push to rename revamped U.S. 41". Green Bay Press Gazette. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/greenbaypressgazette/access/1688989471.html?FMT=ABS. Retrieved 2009-07-10. 
  6. ^ New Business, Minutes of the Village Board Meeting. Village of Howard, Wisconsin, 2009-02-09. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
  7. ^ "US 41 Expansion—Brown County". Wisconsin Department of Transportation. http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/us41expansion/brown-index.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-24. 
  8. ^ "US 41 Expansion". Wisconsin Department of Transportation. http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/us41expansion/. Retrieved 2007-03-24. 
  9. ^ a b c Zellmer, Doug (2007-06-04). "Park-and-ride lots planned along 41". Appleton Post Crescent. 
  10. ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation. "Exit Numbers on US 41". http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/road/exits-us41.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-10. 
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