U.S. Route 12 in Wisconsin

U.S. Highway 12
Route information
Maintained by WisDOT
Length:	339.40 mi[1] (546.21 km)
Existed:	1926 (1917 as WIS 12) – present
Major junctions
West end:	US 12 at Minnesota state line
	US 53 in Altoona I-90 in Lake Delton US 14 in Middleton US 18 in Madison I-43 in Elkhorn
East end:	US 12 at Illinois state line
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List • Bannered • Divided • Replaced Wisconsin highways County • Bannered • Rustic ← WIS 11 WIS 13 →

In the U.S. state of Wisconsin, U.S. Route 12 (normally called U.S. Highway 12, Highway 12 or U.S. 12) runs east–west across the western to southeast portions of the state. It enters from Minnesota (concurrently with Interstate 94) at Hudson, parallels the interstate to Wisconsin Dells, and provides local access to cities such as Menomonie, Eau Claire, Black River Falls, Tomah and Mauston. It then provides an alternative route for traffic between northwestern Wisconsin and Madison and is the anchor route for the West Beltline Highway around Madison. Finally, it serves southeastern Wisconsin, connecting Madison with Whitewater, Elkhorn and Lake Geneva. The West Beltline Highway and the segment between Elkhorn and Lake Geneva are freeways, and the segment between Sauk City and Middleton is an expressway. The remainder of the road is a two-lane surface road or an urban multi-lane arterial. Between Hudson and west of Warrens, the road closely parallels the former main line of the Omaha Road, now operated by Union Pacific Railroad.

Contents 1 Route description 1.1 Hudson to Lake Delton 1.2 Lake Delton to Cambridge 1.3 Cambridge to Genoa City 2 History 3 Major intersections 3.1 Hudson to Middleton 3.2 Middleton to Cambridge 3.3 Cambridge to Elkhorn 3.4 Elkhorn to Genoa City 4 References

Route description

Hudson to Lake Delton

U.S. 12 crosses the St. Croix River from Minnesota concurrent with I-94 into St. Croix County. Wisconsin Highway 35 (WIS 35) joins both routes upon their entry into Wisconsin and exits south three miles (5 km) east. U.S. 12 leaves I-94 one mile (1.6 km) further east from the eastern WIS 35 exit, treks two miles (3 km) north and parallels the interstate. The highway crosses WIS 65 in Roberts and passes through Hammond over a fifteen-mile (24 km) segment to Baldwin, where it crosses U.S. 63. U.S. 12 passes through Woodville four miles (6 km) east of Baldwin and crosses WIS 128 in Wilson, two miles (3 km) west of the Dunn County line.^[2] Roughly three miles into Dunn County, U.S. 12 passes through Knapp, Wisconsin, then turns southeastward, connecting with WIS 79 six miles (10 km) further; it then joins WIS 25 (North Broadway Street) to the south in Menomonie. U.S. 12 turns east onto WIS 29 (Main Street East) in downtown Menomonie, and the two routes follow Stout Road east out of the city.^[3] The highways meet an interchange with I-94, then split one half of a mile east in Elk Mound at the junction with WIS 40. U.S. 12 passes through Elk Mound and enters Eau Claire County^[4]

U.S. 12 merges with WIS 312 east (North Crossing) for two miles (3 km) before turning south onto Clairemont Avenue, bypassing downtown Eau Claire to the south and west. WIS 37 joins with U.S. 12 on the southwest side of the city. Access to WIS 93 is provided via U.S. 53. The interchange between U.S. 12 and U.S. 53 in Altoona is Wisconsin's only single-point urban interchange.^[5] U.S. 12 continues east out of the Eau Claire metropolitan area and passes through Fall Creek, where it turns southeastward to join WIS 27 south in Augusta. The two highways briefly join U.S. 10 on the Jackson County line in Fairchild^[6] U.S. 12 and WIS 27 turn southward and pass through Humbird in Clark County and into Jackson County.^[7]

U.S. 12 and WIS 27 cross WIS 95 in Merrillan and WIS 54 in Black River Falls. U.S. 12 and WIS 27 also split in Black River Falls. U.S. 12 follows I-94 to the southeast past Millston and into Monroe County.^[8] The highway crosses I-94 (with no access) south of Kirby and junctions with WIS 21 on the north side of Tomah at an interchange with the interstate. U.S. 12 passes through Tomah and joins with WIS 16 on the south side at the junction with WIS 131 near Mill Bluff State Park. The highways continue paralleling I-90 and I-94 southeast and pass through Oakdale and into Juneau County.^[8]

U.S. 12 and WIS 16 pass through Camp Douglas and cross WIS 80 in New Lisbon. The highways then junction with WIS 58 and WIS 82 in Mauston as they continue southeast. The routes trek eastward and pass through Lyndon Station, where Rocky Arbor State Park is located. The highways turn southeast again and cross the Interstates into Sauk County and Wisconsin Dells.^[9] WIS 16 turns east onto WIS 13 north as WIS 23 west turns south onto U.S. 12. These highways follow the Wisconsin Dells Parkway south into the heart of the Wisconsin Dells tourism district,^[10] — passing such attractions as Noah's Ark Waterpark,^[11] the Wisconsin Ducks boat tours,^[12] Kalahari Resort, Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park, Wilderness Territory, and Tommy Bartlett's Thrill Show.^[13] WIS 23 turns west onto Monroe Ave as U.S. 12 turns southeast and crosses the Interstates.^[14]

Lake Delton to Cambridge

WIS 33 joins U.S. 12 three miles (5 km) north of Baraboo; the routes split in West Baraboo at WIS 136. U.S. 12 joins with WIS 159, a short highway that provides access to Devil's Lake State Park. The highway briefly becomes an expressway two miles south of WIS 159 for seven miles (11 km) as it approaches Sauk City. WIS 60 briefly joins U.S. 12 in Sauk City and WIS 78 crosses the Wisconsin River concurrently with U.S. 12 into Dane County.^[14] U.S. 12 becomes an expressway again at the county line and continues southeast, crossing WIS 19 at Springfield Corners. Just northwest of Middleton, the route becomes a freeway as it enters the Madison area along the West Beltline Highway.^[15]

U.S. 12 merges with U.S. 14 at University Avenue. The freeway continues south and turns eastward at the interchange with CTH M and CTH S (Mineral Point Road). U.S. 18 and U.S. 151 join the beltline off Verona Road in southwestern Madison. The four routes travel concurrently for two miles (3 km), passing through interchanges with Todd Drive and Fish Hatchery Road before U.S. 14 leaves south towards Janesville and U.S. 151 north into downtown Madison via Park Street. The four-way concurrency was crossed by a railroad track at the surface until 2007. The crossing was isolated using Jersey barriers until that time.^[16] The freeway also had several ramps, which contained driveways that accessed businesses.^[17] U.S. 12 and U.S. 18 continue east into Monona and cross the Upper Mud Lake channel. The highways meet U.S. 51 at Stoughton Road, then interchange with I-39 and I-90 on the southeast side of Madison.^[18] U.S. 12 and U.S. 18 continue as an expressway east of the interstates, junctioning with WIS 73 in Deerfield and splitting, with U.S. 12 turning southeast into Jefferson County in Cambridge.^[15]

Cambridge to Genoa City

After leaving Cambridge, U.S. 12 passes through Oakland and crosses WIS 26, WIS 89, and WIS 106 in Fort Atkinson. WIS 89 joins U.S. 12 as the route turns southward to approach Whitewater, bypassing the city to the south into Walworth County. The route briefly enters Rock County before crossing into Walworth County^[19] WIS 89 turns off U.S. 12 at its junction with WIS 59. WIS 59 East follows U.S. 12 briefly before turning north into the city. U.S. 12 passes through La Grange and turns south at the junction with WIS 20 to follow WIS 67 south. U.S. 12 turns southeast off WIS 67 onto a freeway northeast of Elkhorn. The highway crosses over WIS 11 with no access, then interchanges with I-43. Access for Lake Geneva is provided at WIS 120 and WIS 50 as U.S. 12 passes the city to the east. The highway turns south into Genoa City, where the freeway ends and U.S. 12 follows the crossroad into Illinois.

History

The entire route was originally signed as WIS 12 in 1917 prior to the creation of the U.S. highway system in 1926. Aside from changes resulting from the construction of freeways and U.S. 12 being aligned on them, some differences exist between the original route and today's alignment. WIS 12 followed CTH E, a more southerly alignment, between Menomonie and Eau Claire. From Black River Falls, WIS 12 continued south to Shamrock and turned east to follow CTH O to Millston. WIS 12 ran southerly from Tomah along WIS 131 to CTH A and turned east onto the county road to pass through Hustler and Clifton to reach New Lisbon.^[1][20]

The state originally planned to upgrade all of U.S. 12 from Madison to Genoa City to freeway in anticipation of Illinois facilitating a toll road south of the state line. However, after Wisconsin started upgrading between Elkhorn and Genoa City, it was realized that no plans were ever set forth by Illinois, apparently due to community opposition. The route between Cambridge and Whitewater was upgraded to a straighter and flatter path for safety. A bypass of Whitewater was added in 2005. Upgrades to U.S. 12 between Middleton and Sauk City were completed in 2005, but local opposition prevented most of the remaining route north of that point to Lake Delton from being constructed.^[1] However, an upgrade of U.S. 12 from Baraboo to I-90/ I-94 at Lake Delton was approved and was completed in 2011.

In Wisconsin, the highway was designated as the Iron Brigade Memorial Highway in 1993 to honor the Civil War Union Army unit; it also has this designation in Michigan, Indiana and Illinois.^{[21][22][23][24]}

Major intersections

Hudson to Middleton

County	Location	Mile	Destinations	Notes
St. Croix	Hudson		WIS 35 north	WIS 35 South follow I-94 East / US 12 East I-94 Exit 1[25]
			CTH-A (Carmichael Road) / CTH-F	I-94 Exit 2[25]
			WIS 35 south	WIS 35 North follow I-94 West / US 12 West I-94 Exit 3[25]
			I-94 east	US 12 West follow I-94 West / US 12 East
			CTH-U
	Roberts		WIS 65
	Hammond		CTH-T
	Baldwin		US 63
	Woodville		CTH-D
	Wilson		WIS 128
			CTH-W
Dunn	Knapp		CTH-O
			CTH-K
			WIS 79
	Menomonie		WIS 25 north	WIS 25 South follow US 12 East
			WIS 25 north / WIS 29 west	WIS 25 North follow US 12 West WIS 29 East follow US 12 East
			CTH-B
	Elk Mound		I-94
			WIS 29 east / WIS 40	WIS 29 West follow US 12 West
Eau Claire	Eau Claire		WIS 312 west (North Crossing)	WIS 312 East follow US 12 East
			WIS 312 east (North Crossing) / CTH-T	WIS 312 West follow US 12 West
			WIS 37
			US 53 Bus. (Hastings Way)
	Altoona		US 53
	Fall Creek		CTH-K
	Augusta		WIS 27 north	WIS 27 South follow US 12 East
	Fairchild		CTH-H
Jackson			US 10 west	US 12 East / WIS 27 South Follow US 10 East
Clark			US 10 east	US 12 West / WIS 27 North Follow US 10 West
	Humbird		CTH-B
Jackson	Merrillan		WIS 95
	Black River Falls		I-94
			WIS 54
			WIS 27 south	WIS 27 North follow US 12 West
	Millston		CTH-O
Monroe	Tomah		I-94 / WIS 21
			WIS 16 west / WIS 131	WIS 16 East follow US 12 East
			I-90
	Oakdale		CTH-PP
Juneau	Camp Douglas		CTH-H
	New Lisbon		WIS 80
	Mauston		WIS 82
			CTH-O
	Lyndon Station		CTH-HH
	Indian Heights		CTH-J
Sauk	Wisconsin Dells		WIS 13 / WIS 16 east / WIS 23 east	WIS 16 West follow US 12 West WIS 23 West Follow US 12 East
	Lake Delton		WIS 23	WIS 23 East Follow US 12 West
			I-90 / I-94
	West Baraboo		WIS 33 west	WIS 33 East follow US 12 East
			WIS 33 east / WIS 136	WIS 33 West follow US 12 West
			WIS 159
	Bluffview		CTH-C
	Prairie du Sac		CTH-Z
	Sauk City		WIS 60 west	WIS 60 East follow US 12 East
			WIS 60 east / WIS 78 south	WIS 60 West follow US 12 West WIS 78 South follow US 12 East
Dane			WIS 78 south	WIS 78 North follow US 12 West
	Roxbury		CTH-Y
	Springfield Corners		WIS 19
	Ashton		CTH-K
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Middleton to Cambridge

County	Location	Mile	#[26]	Destinations	Notes
Dane	Middleton		249	Parmenter St
			250	CTH-M – Airport Rd, Century Ave	CTH M follow US 12 East
			251A	US 14 west – Spring Green, La Crosse	University Ave use Exit 251A US 14 East follow US 12 East
			251B	Parmenter St	Westbound exit only
	Madison		252	Greenway Blvd
			253	Old Sauk Rd
			254	CTH-M / CTH-S – Mineral Point Rd
			255	Gammon Rd
			257	Whitney Way
			258	US 18 west / US 151 south (Midvale Blvd, Verona Rd) – Dodgeville	US 18 East / US 151 North follow US 12 / US 14 East
			258A	Seminole Hwy	Eastbound entrance; Westbound exit only
			259	Todd Dr
			260A-B	CTH-D – Fish Hatchery Rd	Two Exits Eastbound, One Exit Westbound
			261A	US 14 – Oregon	Eastbound POV
			261B	US 151 – Park St	Eastbound POV
			261A-B	US 14 east / US 151 north (Park St) – Oregon	Westbound POV US 14 West / US 141 South follow US 12 West / US 18 West
			262	Rimrock Rd
			263	John Nolen Dr
	Monona		264	South Towne Dr
			265	Monona Dr
	Madison		266	US 51 – Stoughton Rd	McFarland use Exit 266
			267A	I-39 south / I-90 east – Janesville, Chicago
			267B	I-39 south / I-90 west to I-94 west – Wis Dells, Milwaukee
	Door Creek		272	CTH-N – Stoughton, Cottage Grove

Cambridge to Elkhorn

County	Location	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Dane	Cambridge		US 18 east / WIS 134	US 18 West follow US 12 West
Jefferson	Oakland		CTH-A
			CTH-J
	Fort Atkinson		WIS 26
			WIS 89 north / WIS 106	WIS 89 South follow US 12 East
Walworth	Whitewater		WIS 59 west / WIS 89 south	WIS 89 North follow US 12 West WIS 59 East follow US 12 East
			WIS 59 east	WIS 59 West follow US 12 West
	La Grange		WIS 20 / WIS 67 north	WIS 67 South follow US 12 East
			CTH-A
	Elkhorn		WIS 67 south	WIS 67 South follow US 12 West
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Elkhorn to Genoa City

County	Location	Mile	#[26]	Destinations	Notes
Walworth	Elkhorn		321A-B	I-43 – Beloit, Milwaukee
			321C	CTH-NN – Elkhorn
	Lake Geneva		328	WIS 120 east – Burlington, Lake Geneva
			330A	WIS 50 east – Paddock Lake, Kenosha	Eastbound
			330B	WIS 50 / WIS 120 – Lake Geneva
			330 A-B	WIS 50 / WIS 120 – Lake Geneva, Kenosha	Westbound
	Pell Lake		335	Pell Lake Rd

References

U.S. Route 12
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