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Wisconsin Highway 29

Route map:
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State Trunk Highway 29 marker
State Trunk Highway 29
World War I Veterans Memorial Highway
Map
WIS 29; mainline in red, business routes in blue
Route information
Maintained by WisDOT
Length307.35 mi[1] (494.63 km)
Major junctions
West end US 10 / WIS 35 in Prescott
Major intersections
East end WIS 42 in Kewaunee
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWisconsin
CountiesPierce, St. Croix, Dunn, Chippewa, Clark, Marathon, Shawano, Brown, Kewaunee
Highway system
← WIS 28→ WIS 30

State Trunk Highway 29 (often called Highway 29, STH-29 or WIS 29) is a state highway running east–west across central Wisconsin. It is a major east–west corridor connecting the Twin Cities and the Chippewa Valley with Wausau and Green Bay. A multi-year project to convert the corridor to a four-lane freeway or expressway from Elk Mound to Green Bay was completed in 2005. The remainder of WIS 29 is two-lane surface road or an urban multi-lane road.

Route description

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Prescott to Elk Mound

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WIS 29 begins at its western terminus at U.S. Highway 10 (US 10), on the north side of Prescott. From this point, WIS 29 is concurrent with WIS 35 northeast of River Falls, passing the University of Wisconsin–River Falls campus. At the junction with WIS 65, WIS 35 turns northbound with WIS 65 while WIS 29 continues east. WIS 29 joins briefly with US 63 west of Spring Valley[2] and turns eastbound upon its split one mile (1.6 km) south to head into Spring Valley.[3] Upon leaving Spring Valley and Pierce County, Wisconsin, the highway heads northwardward into St. Croix County and turns east towards Menomonie. WIS 29 does not pass through any municipalities while in this county, but it does cross WIS 128.[4]

Upon entering Dunn County, the route passes through rural terrain and enters Menomonie's west side as Hudson Road. The highway turns northward onto Main Street and passes west and north of the University of Wisconsin–Stout campus. WIS 29 turns east onto Stout Road along with US 12 and leaves the city to the east.[5] US 12/WIS 29 proceeds east for about nine miles (14 km) and junctions with Interstate 94 (I-94). This interchange is the westernmost point of the multi-lane WIS 29 corridor.[6] It is also the westernmost point of WIS 29 as a backbone route in Corridors 2020.[7]

Elk Mound to Wausau

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West of County Highway T (CTH-T), the highway is an expressway. It passes into the Chippewa Valley metropolitan area and south of Chippewa Falls as a freeway and crosses US 53 at a cloverleaf interchange in Lake Hallie.[8] WIS 29 junctions with the southern terminus of WIS 178 southeast of Chippewa Falls then passes to the south of Lake Wissota State Park before crossing under WIS 27 in Cadott. WIS 29 passes south of Boyd and Stanley before exiting the county to the east.[8]

In Clark County, WIS 29 meets WIS 73 in Thorp. The two highways run concurrently and exit the village to the east, and WIS 73 splits to the south in Withee about 10 miles (16 km) east. WIS 29 continues east and passes south of Owen and Curtiss. At Abbotsford, WIS 29 and WIS 13 meet at a partial cloverleaf interchange between Abbotsford and Colby on the Clark–Marathon county line.[8] Twelve miles (19 km) east of Abbotsford, WIS 29 and WIS 97 meet at a diamond interchange. This is a key route for travelers between Wausau and Marshfield. East of this junction, WIS 29 follows a straight course that passes Edgar and meets WIS 107 at a diamond interchange on the north side of Marathon City, approximately eight miles (13 km) west of Wausau. WIS 29 enters Wausau as a freeway, junctions with the western terminus of WIS 52 approximately 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) west of US 51 at an eastbound off/westbound on style half-interchange. WIS 29 then immediately enters the US 51 interchange, and turns south onto and follows US 51 for five miles (8.0 km), bypassing the downtown area to the south.[9]

Wausau to Green Bay

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WIS 29 interchange on I-39 and US 51

South of Wausau, WIS 29 turns off US 51 to the east at the northern terminus of I-39 and continues as freeway, passing through the villages of Rothschild and Weston. The freeway section ends at Ringle. As an expressway, the highway passes just south of Hatley and turns southeast for about four miles (6 km) before turning east again at the northern terminus of WIS 49.[9]

The highway enters Shawano County about one mile (1.6 km) east of this junction.[9] WIS 29 passes north and around Wittenberg. US 45 joins with the highway north of Wittenberg and the two routes run concurrently to where US 45 splits to the south at about two miles (3.2 km) east of the village. WIS 29 bypasses Tilleda and Thornton on the way towards Shawano. At Shawano, the expressway becomes a freeway at the junction with CTH-MMM (WIS 29 Business) and turns southeast to bypass Shawano to the south, diamond interchanges link the highway with WIS 22 and WIS 47 north/WIS 55 north as it pass south of the city. WIS 47 south and WIS 55 south follow WIS 29 east. WIS 47 splits to the south at the diamond interchange junction with WIS 117 south of Bonduel. WIS 29 (along with WIS 55) then returns to an expressway at the junction with CTH-BE (WIS 29's former route). WIS 55 splits to the south at the diamond interchange junction with WIS 160 at Angelica and WIS 29 heads southeast to the Brown County line.[10]

Flyovers completed at WIS 29-US 41 interchange in 2014 as part of the US 41 project

About one mile (1.6 km) into Brown County, WIS 29 collects WIS 32 eastbound at the diamond interchange with WIS 156 and CTH-Y. WIS 29 very briefly passes through the northeast corner of Outagamie County and enters the village of Howard. The multilane expressway and the Backbone Corridor route end at Interstate 41/US 41.[7][11] WIS 32 turns south onto I-41/US 41 as WIS 29 continues into Green Bay as Shawano Avenue.[12]

Green Bay to Kewaunee

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Eastern terminus in Kewaunee

In downtown Green Bay, WIS 29 turns north onto South Monroe Avenue for four blocks, joining with WIS 54 and turns east onto Main Street, splitting from WIS 54 and joining US 141 to leave the city to the southeast. The highways pass over I-43 without an interchange. WIS 29 splits to the east from US 141 at about one mile (1.6 km) north of US 's southern terminus at I-43 in Bellevue. This provides the only access from I-43 to WIS 29. The highway passes through Poland and Henrysville as it exits Brown County to the east.[11] In Kewaunee County, WIS 29 passes due east through Pilsen and north of Krok as a two-lane road. The highway ends in downtown Kewaunee at WIS 42 on the shores of Lake Michigan.[13]

History

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Prior to 1926, WIS 29 was numbered WIS 116 from Minnesota to Chippewa Falls, WIS 16 from Chippewa Falls to Bellevue, and WIS 146 from Bellevue to Kewaunee. WIS 16 continued southeast from Bellevue along what became US 141 in 1926 to Manitowoc. What had been WIS 29 before 1926 became US 16 across the state.[14]

WIS 29 has long been known as "Bloody 29" because of the prevalence of grisly fatal traffic crashes along significant portions of the highway.[15] In 1988, a study was commissioned to examine widening the highway to a four-lane divided highway. The changes would be made along 203 miles (327 km) of road from I-94, 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Elk Mound, to US 41 in Howard (suburban Green Bay). The final segment of the highway, connecting the east side of Chippewa Falls with the segment running north of Eau Claire, was opened to traffic on August 16, 2005. Of the total length, about 65 miles (105 km) of the highway meets Interstate Highway standards.[16] Most of the expansion was completed with only minor additions to the already-existing easements, and as a result, the expanded roadway almost exactly matches the highway's original course.

The portion of WIS 29 between Chippewa Falls and Abbotsford roughly follows what used to be the Yellowstone Trail.[17][18]

Future

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Long range plans call for WIS 29 to be converted to a full freeway between I-94 in Elk Mound and I-41 in Green Bay, however, there is no timetable for the entire corridor to be completed.[19]

Major intersections

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CountyLocationmikmExit[20]DestinationsNotes
PiercePrescott0.000.00


 US 10 / WIS 35 south / Alt. I-94 east – Prescott, Ellsworth		Western end of WIS 35 and Alternate I-94 concurency
River Falls12.7520.52
 WIS 35 north / WIS 65 – Ellsworth, Hudson, Roberts		Eastern end of WIS 35 concurrency
Martell24.3739.22 US 63 – Baldwin, Ellsworth
St. CroixSpring Valley35.4557.05 WIS 128 – Glenwood City, Elmwood
DunnMenomonie50.0280.50
 US 12 west / WIS 25 – Durand, Wheeler, Baldwin		Western end of US 12 concurrency
Elk Mound59.9796.5160 I-94 – Madison, St. PaulWestern end of four-lane expressway; signed as exits 60A and 60B
60.8697.9461

 US 12 east / WIS 40 north – Colfax, Elk Mound		Eastern end of US 12 concurrency
ChippewaChippewa Falls69.55111.9369 CTH-T
72.50116.6872
 Bus. WIS 29 (90th Avenue)
75.95122.2375

 US 53 / Alt. I-94 west – Eau Claire, Superior		Signed as exits 75A (US 53 south) and 75B (US 53 north), Eastern end of Alternate I-94 concurrency
79.50127.9479

 Bus. WIS 29 / WIS 178 north – Chippewa Falls
Lake Wissota80.87130.1580 CTH-X – Lake Wissota State ParkWestbound entrance and eastbound exit only
81.58131.2981 CTH-J – Lake Wissota
87.67141.0987 CTH-X – Lake Wissota State ParkEastbound signage omits Lake Wissota State Park
Cadott91.14146.6891 WIS 27 – Cadott, Augusta
Boyd96.97156.0697 CTH-D – Boyd
Stanley101.72163.70101 CTH-H / CTH-X – Stanley
ClarkThorp108.45174.53108
 WIS 73 north / CTH-M – Thorp
Withee118.49190.69118
 WIS 73 south / CTH-T – Withee, Neillsville
Owen121.52195.57122 CTH-X (Cardinal Avenue) – Owen
Curtiss126.76204.00127 CTH-E – Curtiss
Abbotsford131.20211.15131
 Bus. WIS 29 – Abbotsford		Eastbound exit and westbound entrance only
Marathon132.91213.90132 WIS 13 – Colby, Abbotsford
134.62216.65134
 Bus. WIS 29 – Abbotsford		Eastbound entrance and westbound exit only
138.11222.27 CTH-F – CherokeeAt-grade intersection
Wien144.95233.27145 WIS 97 – Athens, Marshfield
147.61237.56 CTH-M – WienAt-grade intersection
Edgar150.36241.98150 CTH-H – Edgar
153.45246.95 CTH-S – Rib FallsAt-grade intersection
Marathon City156.20251.38156 WIS 107 – Marathon City, Merrill
Wausau159.10256.05159 CTH-O – North
162.04260.7816272nd Avenue
164.35264.50164
 WIS 52 east (Stewart Avenue)

 US 51 north – Merrill		Northern end of US 51 concurrency; signed as exits 164A (WIS 52, Stewart Avenue) and 164B (US 51 north); signed as exit 192 on US 51; concurrency follows US 51's exit numbers
165.26265.96191Sherman StreetNorthbound exit and southbound entrance only
Town of Rib Mountain166.32267.67190 CTH-NN (North Mountain Road)
167.98270.34188 CTH-N (Rib Mountain Drive)
168.86271.75170

 I-39 south / US 51 south – Stevens Point, Madison		Southern end of US 51 concurrency; northern terminus of I-39; exit 187 on I-39/US 51
Rothschild170.65274.63171
 Bus. US 51 – Rothschild, Schofield
Weston172.51277.63173 CTH-X (Camp Phillips Road) – Weston
176.13283.45177 CTH-J – Weston
Ringle179.87289.47181 CTH-Q – Ringle
Hatley184.05296.20185 CTH-Y – Hatley
Elderon190.68306.87
 WIS 49 south – Elderon		At-grade intersection
ShawanoWittenberg194.56313.11195

 US 45 north / Bus. WIS 29 / CTH-M – Antigo, Wittenberg		Western end of US 45 concurrency
195.74315.01196
 Bus. WIS 29 / CTH-Q – Wittenberg		Eastbound entrance and westbound exit only
197.15317.28198

 US 45 south / Bus. WIS 29 / CTH-Q – Clintonville, Wittenberg		Easter end of US 45 concurrency; eastbound signage omits Bus. WIS 29, County Q, and Wittenberg
202.83326.42 CTH-J – TigertonAt-grade intersection
Tilleda208.23335.11
 CTH-D north – Tilleda		At-grade intersection
208.74335.93
 CTH-G south		At-grade intersection
209.91337.82
 CTH-D south – Leopolis, Pella		At-grade intersection
Thornton214.91345.86 CTH-U – GreshamAt-grade intersection
220.59355.01
 Bus. WIS 29 / CTH-MMM – Shawano		At-grade intersection
Shawano225.02362.13225 WIS 22 / CTH-CC – Shawano, Clintonville
227.01365.34227


 WIS 47 north / WIS 55 north / CTH-K / Bus. WIS 29 – Shawano		Western end of WIS 47/WIS 55 concurrency
Bonduel233.73376.15234

 WIS 47 south / WIS 117 north – Bonduel, Appleton		Eastern end of WIS 47 concurrency
236.50380.61 CTH-BE – BonduelAt-grade intersection; formerly WIS 29
Angelica238.57383.94 CTH-F – ZachowAt-grade intersection
241.76389.08242

 WIS 55 south / WIS 160 east – Pulaski, Seymour		Eastern end of WIS 55 concurrency
BrownOneida249.05400.81249

 WIS 32 north / WIS 156 west / CTH-Y – Pulaski, Gillett, Clintonville		Northwestern end of WIS 32 concurrency
Green Bay252.44406.26253 CTH-VV (Marley Street, Triangle Drive)Former at-grade J-turn (superstreet) intersection; roundabout interchange opened in August 2022
254.23409.14255 CTH-FF – Howard, Hobart
256.82413.31 CTH-EB (Packerland Drive)Eastbound exit, westbound entrance
257.43414.29
 I-41 / US 41 / WIS 32 south – Marinette, Appleton		Southwestern end of WIS 32 concurrency; exit 169 on US 41; eastern end of WIS 32 expressway
261.66421.10
 US 141 north (Main St) / WIS 54 / WIS 57 (Monroe Ave) – De Pere, Algoma, Sturgeon Bay		Western end of US 141 concurrency
Bellevue268.58432.24
 US 141 south – Denmark, Manitowoc		Eastern end of US 141 concurrency
Poland273.38439.96 CTH-T – New Franken, Denmark
Henrysville275.38443.18 CTH-P
KewauneePilsen277.36446.37 CTH-V – Curran
Stangelville CTH-AB – Luxemburg, MishicotFormer WIS 163
Kewaunee289.75466.31 WIS 42 / LMCT – Algoma, Sturgeon Bay, ManitowocEastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Business routes

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Main article: Business routes of Wisconsin Highway 29

WIS 29 has four business routes:

  • Business WIS 29 in Chippewa Falls
  • Business WIS 29 in Abbotsford
  • Business WIS 29 in Wittenberg
  • Business WIS 29 in Shawano

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Federal Highway Administration. "The National Highway Planning Network". Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on January 30, 2002. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
  2. ^ "US 63 to US 63" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  3. ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Pierce Co (PDF) (Map). 1:100,000. Madison: Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 16, 2008. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  4. ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation. St. Croix Co (PDF) (Map). 1:100,000. Madison: Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  5. ^ "Hudson Road, Menomonie, Wisconsin" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  6. ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Dunn Co (PDF) (Map). 1:100,000. Madison: Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  7. ^ a b "Wisconsin State Highway Plan 2020 Summary Report" (PDF). Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Wisconsin Bureau of Planning. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
  8. ^ a b c Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Chippewa Co (PDF) (Map). 1:100,000. Madison: Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  9. ^ a b c Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Marathon Co (PDF) (Map). 1:100,000. Madison: Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  10. ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Shawano Co (PDF) (Map). 1:100,000. Madison: Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 15, 2011. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  11. ^ a b Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Brown Co (PDF) (Map). 1:100,000. Cartography by WisDOT. Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 13, 2007. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  12. ^ "Shawano Ave, Green Bay" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  13. ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Kewaunee Co (PDF) (Map). 1:100,000. Madison: Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  14. ^ Bauer, Kurt W. (1969). "Map 5: Original State Trunk Highway System in Wisconsin 1918" (Map). A Jurisdictional Highway System Plan For Milwaukee County. Scale not given. Milwaukee: Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. OCLC 226912. Retrieved January 10, 2008 – via Midwest Roads.
  15. ^ Bessert, Christopher J. "Highways 20-29". Retrieved February 3, 2012.[self-published source]
  16. ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation. "WIS 29 Freeway Conversion Study". Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 10, 2007.
  17. ^ "The Yellowstone Trail in Chippewa County Wisconsin". Yellowstone Trail Association. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  18. ^ "The Yellowstone Trail in Clark County Wisconsin". Yellowstone Trail Association. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  19. ^ "Promote Transportation Efficiencies" (PDF). wisconsindot.gov. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  20. ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation. "Exit Numbers on WIS 29". Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 10, 2007.
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