U.S. Route 12 in Wisconsin

US Highway 12
Route information
Maintained by WisDOT
Length:	339.40 mi[1] (546.21 km)
Existed:	1926 – present
History:	Designated in 1917 as WIS 12
Major junctions
West end:	I-94 / US 12 in Hudson
	I-94 in Hudson I-94 in Elk Mound I-94 in Black River Falls I-94 in Tomah I-90 in Tomah I-90 / I-94 in Wis. Dells I-90 / I-94 in Lake Delton I-39 / I-90 in Madison I-43 in Elkhorn
East end:	US 12 in Genoa City
Location
Counties:	St. Croix, Dunn, Chippewa, Eau Claire, Clark, Jackson, Monroe, Juneau, Sauk, Dane, Jefferson, Rock, Walworth
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Bannered Divided Replaced Wisconsin State Trunk Highway System Interstate U.S. State Scenic Rustic ← WIS 11 WIS 13 →

U.S. Highway 12 (US 12 or Highway 12) in the U.S. state of Wisconsin runs east–west across the western to southeast portions of the state. It enters from Minnesota running concurrently with Interstate 94 (I-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.

Route description

Hudson to Lake Delton

US 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. US 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 US 63. US 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, US 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. US 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. US 12 passes through Elk Mound and enters Eau Claire County^[4]

US 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 US 12 on the southwest side of the city. Access to WIS 93 is provided via US 53. The interchange between US 12 and US 53 in Altoona is Wisconsin's only single-point urban interchange.^[5] US 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 US 10 on the Jackson County line in Fairchild^[6] US 12 and WIS 27 turn southward and pass through Humbird in Clark County and into Jackson County.^[7]

US 12 and WIS 27 cross WIS 95 in Merrillan and WIS 54 in Black River Falls. US 12 and WIS 27 also split in Black River Falls. US 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. US 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]

US 12 near Rocky Arbor State Park

US 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 US 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 US 12 turns southeast and crosses the Interstates.^[14]

Lake Delton to Cambridge

US 12/US 18 eastbound at southern terminus of WIS 134 in Cambridge

At the I-90/94 interchange, US 12 becomes a freeway that bypasses Baraboo. The section from I-90/94 to just south of Old Highway 33 is complete, and then U.S 12 joins its old alignment at a roundabout. WIS 33 joins the old US 12 alignment three miles (5 km) north of Baraboo; the routes split in West Baraboo at WIS 136. US 12 joins with WIS 159, a short highway that provides access to Devil's Lake State Park. Eventually, WisDOT will continue the Baraboo bypass freeway south of its current terminus at Old Highway 33, to just south of the Grasser Road overpass. Near the US 12/WI 159 intersection, the highway will become an expressway to just south of Ski Hi Road. 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 US 12 in Sauk City and WIS 78 crosses the Wisconsin River concurrently with US 12 into Dane County.^[14] US 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]

US 12 merges with US 14 at University Avenue. The freeway continues south and turns eastward at the interchange with CTH M and CTH S (Mineral Point Road). US 18 and US 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 US 14 leaves south towards Janesville and US 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] US 12 and US 18 continue east into Monona and cross the Upper Mud Lake channel. The highways meet US 51 at Stoughton Road, then interchange with I-39 and I-90 on the southeast side of Madison.^[18] US 12 and US 18 continue as an expressway east of the interstates, junctioning with WIS 73 in Deerfield and splitting, with US 12 turning southeast into Jefferson County in Cambridge.^[15]

Cambridge to Genoa City

After leaving Cambridge, US 12 passes through Oakland and crosses WIS 26, WIS 89, and WIS 106 in Fort Atkinson. WIS 89 joins US 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 US 12 at its junction with WIS 59. WIS 59 East follows US 12 briefly before turning north into the city. US 12 passes through La Grange and turns south at the junction with WIS 20 to follow WIS 67 south. US 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 US 12 passes the city to the east. The highway turns south into Genoa City, where the freeway ends and US 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 US 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 US 12 from Genoa City to Madison 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 the project was shelved by Illinois, apparently due to community and environmental opposition (see FAP 420).

The route between Cambridge and Whitewater was upgraded to a straighter and flatter path for safety. A bypass of Whitewater was added in 2005, although the bypass is currently only two lanes. Upgrades to US 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]

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]}

Future

Illinois border to Madison

Despite the lack of a connection at the Illinois state line, several portions of US 12 between Genoa City and Madison are being studied for an upgrade to freeway status. A small, 3.5-mile-long (5.6 km) section from the I-39/I-90 interchange to the County N interchange east of Madison is being studied as part of the I-39/I-90 reconstruction project.^[25] An extension of the US 12 freeway from Elkhorn northwest to Whitewater is proposed as well.^[26] When that happens, the Whitewater bypass will be expanded to a four-lane freeway.

Madison to Wisconsin Dells

The portion of US 12 between Parmenter Street (the end of the Madison Beltline) to WIS 78/188 is being studied for future freeway conversion in two separate studies.^[27][28]

A bypass around Baraboo is under construction; the first phase opened in 2010 and the second phase will open in late 2017.^[29] WisDOT has longe range plans for freeway conversion between the Baraboo bypass and WIS 78/188, including a bypass of Sauk City, however, there is no timetable.^[30]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Exit[31]	Destinations	Notes
Washington	Lakeland				I-94 west / US 12 west	Continuation into Minnesota
St. Croix River		0.00	0.00	Minnesota–Wisconsin state line
St. Croix	Hudson			1	WIS 35 north	Western end of WIS 35 overlap
				2	CTH-F (Carmichael Road)
				3	WIS 35 south	Eastern end of WIS 35 overlap
				4	I-94 east	Eastern end of I-94 overlap
	Roberts				WIS 65 south	Western end of WIS 65 overlap
					WIS 65	Eastern end of WIS 65 overlap
	Baldwin				US 63 north	Northern end of US 63 overlap
					US 63 north	Southern end of US 63 overlap
	Town of Springfield				WIS 128
Dunn	Town of Menomonie				WIS 79 north
	Menomonie				WIS 25 north	Northern end of WIS 25 overlap
					WIS 25 north (Broadway Street)	Southern end of WIS 25 overlap
					WIS 29 (Main Street)	Western end of WIS 29 overlap
	Town of Elk Mound			60	I-94	I-94 exit 52
				61	WIS 29 east / WIS 40 north	Eastern end of WIS 29 overlap
Eau Claire	Eau Claire				WIS 312 west (North Crossing)	Western end of WIS 312 overlap
					WIS 312 east (North Crossing) / CTH-T	Eastern end of WIS 312 overlap
					WIS 37 south
					Bus. US 53 (Hastings Way)
	Altoona				US 53	US 53 exit 86
	Augusta				WIS 27 north	Northern end of WIS 27 overlap
Jackson	Town of Cleveland				US 10 west	Western end of US 10 overlap
Clark	Town of Mentor				US 10 east	Eastern end of US 10 overlap
Jackson	Merrillan				WIS 95
	Black River Falls				I-94	I-94 exit 115
					WIS 54 west	Western end of WIS 54 overlap
					WIS 54 east	Eastern end of WIS 54 overlap
	Town of Brockway				WIS 27 south	Southern end of WIS 27 overlap
Monroe	Tomah				I-94	I-94 exit 143; no entrance from westbound I-94
					WIS 21	Provides access from westbound I-94
					WIS 16 west / WIS 131 south	Western end of WIS 16 overlap
					I-90	I-90 exit 43
Juneau	New Lisbon				WIS 80 north	Northern end of WIS 80 overlap
					WIS 80 south	Southern end of WIS 80 overlap
	Mauston				WIS 58 / WIS 82
	Town of Lyndon				I-90 / I-94	I-90 / I-94 exit 85
Sauk	Wisconsin Dells				WIS 13 / WIS 16 east / WIS 23 east	Eastern end of WIS 16 overlap; northern end of WIS 23 overlap
	Lake Delton				WIS 23	Southern end of WIS 23 overlap
					I-90 / I-94	I-90 / I-94 exit 92
	Town of Delton			212	Bus. US 12 / CTH-BD (Fern Dell Road)
				214	N. Reedsburg Road	Exit for Ho-Chunk Casino Wisconsin Dells
				215	WIS 33 west – Reedsburg	Northern end of WIS 33 overlap
	West Baraboo				WIS 33 east / WIS 136 – Rock Springs	Southern end of WIS 33 overlap
	Town of Baraboo				WIS 159 east – Devil's Lake State Park
	Town of Prairie du Sac				WIS 60 west – Spring Green	Western end of WIS 60 overlap
	Sauk City				WIS 60 east / WIS 78 north – Merrimac	Eastern end of WIS 60 overlap; northern end of WIS 78 overlap
Dane	Town of Roxbury				WIS 78 south – Black Earth, Mount Horeb	Southern end of WIS 78 overlap
					WIS 188 north – Lodi
	Town of Springfield				WIS 19 west – Mazomanie	Western end of WIS 19 overlap
					WIS 19 east – Waunakee	Eastern end of WIS 19 overlap
	Middleton			249	Parmenter Street
				250	CTH-M (Century Avenue) / Airport Road
				251A	US 14 west / CTH-MS / University Avenue – Spring Green, La Crosse, Cross Plains	Western end of US 14 overlap
				251B	Parmenter Street	Westbound exit only
	Madison			252	Greenway Boulevard
				253	Old Sauk Road
				254	CTH-M / CTH-S (Mineral Point Road) – Verona, Mount Horeb
				255	Gammon Road
				257	Whitney Way
				258	US 18 west / US 151 south (Verona Road) / Midvale Boulevard – Dodgeville, Fitchburg	Western end of US 18 and US 151 overlaps.
				258A	Seminole Highway	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance only; exit for UW Arboretum
				259	Todd Drive
				260	CTH-D (Fish Hatchery Road) – Belleville	Eastbound exits signed 260A (south) and 260B (north)
				261	US 14 east / US 151 north (Park St) – Oregon	Eastern end of US 14 and US 151 overlaps
				262	CTH-MM (Rimrock Road)
				263	John Nolen Drive
	Monona			264	CTH-BW (West Broadway)
				265	Monona Drive
	Madison			266	US 51 (Stoughton Road) – McFarland
				267	I-39 / I-90 to I-94 – Janesville, Chicago, Wis Dells, Milwaukee	Signed as exits 267A (east/south) and 267B (west/north); I-39 / I-90 exit 142
	Town of Cottage Grove			272	CTH-N – Cottage Grove, Stoughton
	Town of Deerfield				WIS 73 north	Western end of WIS 73 overlap
	Town of Christiana				WIS 73 south – Edgerton	Eastern end of WIS 73 overlap
	Cambridge				WIS 134 north – Waterloo
					US 18 east – Jefferson	Eastern end of US 18 overlap
Jefferson	Fort Atkinson				WIS 26 – Watertown, Milton
					Bus. WIS 26 north (Madison Avenue)	Northern end of WIS 26 Business overlap
					WIS 106 (Riverside Drive)
					Bus. WIS 26 south (Robert Street)	Southern end of WIS 26 Business overlap
					WIS 89 north – Lake Mills	Northern end of WIS 89 overlap
Walworth	Whitewater				WIS 59 west / WIS 89 south – Milton, Delavan	Southern end of WIS 89 overlap; western end of WIS 59 overlap
					WIS 59 east – Palmyra	Eastern end of WIS 59 overlap
	Town of La Grange				WIS 20 east / WIS 67 north – East Troy, Eagle	Northern end of WIS 67 overlap
	Elkhorn				WIS 67 south – Williams Bay	Southern end of WIS 67 overlap
				321	I-43 (Bray Road) / CTH-NN – Beloit, Milwaukee, Elkhorn	Unnumbered exits via collector-distributor lane
	Lake Geneva			328	WIS 120 north – Burlington, Lake Geneva	Northern end of WIS 120 overlap
				330	WIS 50 / WIS 120 – Lake Geneva, Paddock Lake, Kenosha	Southern end of WIS 120 overlap; eastbound exits signed 330A (west) and 330B (east)
	Town of Bloomfield			335	Pell Lake Road
	Genoa City				US 12 east – Chicago	Continuation into Illinois
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

External links

Media related to U.S. Route 12 in Wisconsin at Wikimedia Commons

Route map: Bing / Google

U.S. Route 12
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