US 51 Corridor

US 51 Corridor

Dane to Columbia County segment

Dane County north segment

Dane County central segment

Dane County south segment

Maps

Contacts

Location | Overview | Status/phase

Project location

This project is located on US 51 from WIS 33 near Portage, in Columbia County, to I-39/90 near Stoughton, in Dane County.

Project overview

US 51 is an important north-south corridor in the Southwest Region stretching from the Illinois boarder at Beloit to northern Columbia County at Portage.

It provides access to major employment, residential areas and also serves regional traffic to outlying communities. It connects the major communities of Beloit, Janesville, Stoughton, McFarland, Madison, DeForest, Portage and many rural towns.

Currently, there are three studies and one expansion project underway in Dane and Columbia counties. They are divided into four distinct segments:

Dane to Columbia County segment - US 51 Corridor Study from County V in DeForest north to WIS 33 in Portage.
Dane County north segment - US 51 Expansion from I-39/90/94 to County V in northern Dane County.
Dane County central segment - Stoughton Road Corridor Study from US 12/18 (Madison South Beltline) to Token Creek Parkway in the town of Burke.
Dane County south segment - US 51 Corridor Study from I-39/90 east of the city of Stoughton to US 12/18 (Beltline) in Madison.

Increasing traffic and development in the vicinity of US 51 have led to a number of issues in the corridor, particularly:

A growing number of crashes.
Congestion at many intersections.
Diverted traffic through neighborhoods.
Impediments to pedestrian and bicycle travel.

The projected doubling of jobs and residences in the corridor by 2030 will likely increase these problems. Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is working to address these concerns through a multi-faceted corridor management program that makes the most of the existing system while also analyzing options to address long-term problems.

The goal of the US 51 corridor management effort is to address the safety, congestion and multi-modal access concerns by:

Identifying and implementing short-term improvements on an ongoing basis.
Identifying and evaluating impacts of the possible longer-term improvement alternatives.
Sharing information with the community and gathering comments regarding roadway conditions and road improvement alternatives.

Status/phase

Dane to Columbia County segment - Access study with no construction activity.
Dane County north segment - Construction scheduled for 2012.
Dane County central segment - Traffic, Safety, Needs, and Impacts Assessment Study (TOSNIA) with no construction activity.
Dane County south segment - Study - Long term planning with no construction activity.

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