Interstate 894

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Interstate 894 marker

Interstate 894

Map of Milwaukee area with I-894 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by WisDOT
Length: 9.30 mi[1] (14.97 km)
Existed: 1963–1966 [2][3] – present
Major junctions
West end: I-94 / US 45 in West Allis
  I-43 / US 45 in Greenfield
East end: I-43 / I-94 / US 41 in Milwaukee
Location
Counties: Milwaukee
Highway system
  • Interstates
  • U.S.
  • State
← 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 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 as the Zoo Freeway, where it separates from US 45 to follow I-43 heading east to the Mitchell Interchange as the Airport Freeway. It can be used to avoid downtown Milwaukee. The route is also called "the bypass" by local drivers. It is also designated as the Zoo and Airport Freeways, but these names are not generally used.

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.

Route description

I-894 west at the Zoo Interchange

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. Traffic reports generally refer to this section either as 894 Northbound (Southbound) or the Northbound (Southbound) Bypass. 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. This section of the bypass is usually congested during rush hour because of traffic on I-894 and merging traffic from the Rock Freeway (I-43). This 4 mile stretch usually has travel times between 10–15 minutes during the rush hour (as opposed to 5 minutes during non-rush hour times).

The Interstate turns eastward at the Hale Interchange in Hales Corners. US 45 turns westbound at that point to follow I-43/Rock Freeway South, and I-43 North follows I-894 to the east. The highway becomes the Airport Freeway and reenters Greenfield after the Hale Interchange. Generally, this section is referred to as I-894 eastbound (westbound), as I-43 was not added until the late 1980s. 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.[2] (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.[3] 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, and the ramps provide previously had allowed busses access to a park-and-ride[12] The fourth ramp was demolished.[13]

Exit list

The entire route is in Milwaukee County.
LocationMilekmExit[14]DestinationsNotes
Milwaukee0.000.001A I-94 – Downtown MilwaukeeNorthern terminus and northern end of the US 45 concurrency at the Zoo Interchange; the Zoo Freeway continues northward as US 45
0.000.001B I-94 – Madison
West Allis1D WIS 59 – Greenfield Avenue
1ELincoln AvenueEastbound exit and westbound entrance
2ANational AvenueEastbound exit to westbound National Ave only
Greenfield2BOklahoma AvenueEastbound exit and westbound entrance
3Beloit Road
Hales Corners4 I-43 south / US 45 south – Beloit, ChicagoHale Interchange; western end of the I-43 concurrency, southern end of the US 45 concurrency
Greenfield5A WIS 24 west – Forest Home AvenueWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
5BSouth 76th StreetWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
5A-BSouth 76th Street, South 84th StreetEastbound exit and westbound entrance
7South 60th Street
8 WIS 36 – Loomis Road
Milwaukee9 WIS 241 – South 27th StreetNo access is allowed from I-94 west or to I-94 east
10A I-43 north / I-94 west / US 41 north – MilwaukeeEastern end of I-43 concurrency
10B I-94 east / US 41 south – Chicago, AirportEastern terminus at the Mitchell Interchange
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •       Concurrency terminus
  •       Incomplete access

References

  1. ↑ Staff (October 31, 2002). "Route Log and Finder List—Table 2". Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved December 15, 2007. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bessert, Chris (January 31, 2009). "Milwaukee Freeways: Zoo Freeway". Wisconsin Highways. Retrieved March 7, 2009. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bessert, Chris (January 31, 2009). "Milwaukee Freeways: Airport Freeway". Wisconsin Highways. Retrieved March 7, 2009. 
  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. "Overview Map of I-894". Google Maps (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. "Route through Milwaukee via I-94, Zoo Interchange to Mitchell Interchange". Google Maps (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. Retrieved March 7, 2009. 
  11. ↑ Bessert, Chris (January 31, 2009). "Highways 400-894". Wisconsin Highways. Retrieved March 7, 2009. 
  12. ↑ Google Inc. "Greenfield Interchange". Google Maps (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. Retrieved March 7, 2009. 
  14. ↑ King, Randy (August 16, 2010). "Exit Numbers on Interstate 894". Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 19, 2011. 

External links

Route map: Google / Bing
KML file (edit)
1Unsigned
Freeways in Metro Milwaukee
Current
Future
  • I-41
  • Lake Freeway Expansion
    • I-794
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