Wisconsin Highway 341

State Trunk Highway 341 marker

State Trunk Highway 341
Miller Park Way
Route information
Maintained by WisDOT
Length: 1.0 mi[1] (1.6 km)
Existed: August 1999 – present
Major junctions
South end: WIS 59 in West Milwaukee
North end: I-94 / US 41 in Milwaukee
Location
Counties: Milwaukee
Highway system
← WIS 312WIS 441 →

State Trunk Highway 341 (STH 341, WIS 341), better known as Miller Park Way, is the current name of the oldest freeway in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It connects Interstate 94 (I-94) to WIS 59 (National Avenue), with a single set of off-ramps to Canal Street and the parking lots of Miller Park.

Route description

WIS 341 starts an intersection with National Avenue and Miller Park Way. The highway continues north across a rail line to a folded diamond interchange with Parkway Drive, Frederick Miller Way and General Mitchell Boulevard. This interchange provides access to Miller Park and its surrounding parking lots. The highway continues north, and the WIS 341 designation terminates at an interchange with I-94 and U.S. Route 41 (US 41). The northern continuation of the roadway is US 41 along the Stadium Freeway.[2]

History

WIS 341 was commissioned in 1999 after the reopening of the Stadium Freeway between I-94 and National Avenue. Due to the construction of Miller Park, the old Freeway had to be moved to the east by a few hundred yards. It was rebuilt as an arterial highway with a 45 miles per hour (72 km/h) speed limit and carried the designation US 41, when it reopened on August 6, 1998. US 41 was later rerouted in 1999 when the proposed plan to widen Layton Boulevard was successfully blocked by residents and city officials. Because Layton would no longer meet state highway standards, US 41 was rerouted to follow I-94. The section of the Stadium Freeway south of I-94 was given the WIS 341 designation in August 1999.[3]

The Stadium Freeway, originally known as the South 44th Street Expressway for the street it would replace, was opened for traffic in 1953, just as the new Milwaukee County Stadium was opening to host the Milwaukee Braves of the National League of Major League Baseball. Original plans were to have the freeway extend south from National Avenue to the Airport Freeway in Greenfield (what is now I-894 and I-43). The interchange at I-894 was built, but since the Stadium Freeway was never completed to connect to it, the ramps instead lead to a park and ride lot at the corner of Loomis and Cold Spring Roads and are solely for the use of commuter buses, WisDOT and law enforcement vehicles. Because of lawsuits and protest, the southern extension was never built, though most of the right-of-way for the freeway was cleared down to Lincoln Avenue in West Milwaukee. This section of South 43rd Street was renamed Miller Park Way in 2001, after the new park had opened.[4]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Milwaukee County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
West Milwaukee0.00.0 WIS 59
Milwaukee1.01.6 I-94 / US 41Exit 308C on I-94

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bessert, Christopher J. (January 31, 2009). "Highways 200-399". Wisconsin Highways. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  2. ↑ Google (May 3, 2010). "Overview Map of WIS 341" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Change in route for U.S. 41 means new numbers for some state highways". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. August 2, 1999.
  4. ↑ Bessert, Christopher J. (January 31, 2009). "Milwaukee County Freeways: Stadium Freeway". Wisconsin Highways. Retrieved May 3, 2010.

External links

Coordinates: 43°01′36″N 87°58′11″W / 43.026534°N 87.969654°W