Interstate 94 (I-94) runs east–west through the western, central, and southeastern portions of the US state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. A total of of I-94 lie in the state.

Route description

Zoo Interchange from the east in Milwaukee

The route, cosigned with US Highway 12 (US 12), enters from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

just east of the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in sta ...

. The route passes north of Menomonie and south of Eau Claire before turning southeast and heading toward Tomah where it joins

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, an ...

. The two Interstates run concurrently for the next to

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

. I-94 enters the state as a six-lane facility which reduces to four-lane at exit 4 (US 12). I-94 passes by the popular tourist destination of Wisconsin Dells. The route converges with

I-39 Interstate 39 (I-39) is a highway in the Midwestern United States. I-39 runs from Normal, Illinois, at I-55 to State Trunk Highway 29 (WIS 29) in the town of Rib Mountain, Wisconsin, which is approximately south of Wausau. ...

southeast of Tomah (near

Portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

). This concurrency () is the longest three-route concurrency of the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

and only one of two in existence. The interchanges mark a return to a six-lane configuration. I-94 turns eastward toward

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

at what is commonly known as the "Badger Interchange" where the three Interstates meet with State Trunk Highway 30 (WISS 30). The highway returns to four lanes after the interchange traffic merges, then returns to six lanes just west of Waukesha. The highway remains a six-lane facility (with various auxiliary and collector–distributor lanes in Milwaukee at interchanges) east and south of this point, and through the area is officially designated the East–West Freeway, though very few organizations, including the

Wisconsin Department of Transportation The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Wisconsin responsible for planning, building and maintaining the state's highways. It is also responsible for planning transportation in the state ...

's traffic control center in the area actually use that name. I-94 passes through Downtown Milwaukee, turning southbound and joining

I-43 Interstate 43 (I-43) is a Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Wisconsin, connecting I-39/I-90 in Beloit with Milwaukee and I-41, U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) and US 141 in Green Bay. State Trunk Highway& ...

for , into a road designated from Ozaukee County to the Illinois state line as the North–South Freeway. I-94 leaves Milwaukee to the south, joining with

I-41 Interstate 41 (I-41) is a north–south Interstate Highway connecting the interchange of I-94 and U.S. Route 41 (US 41), located south of the Wisconsin– Illinois border at the end of the Tri-State Tollway in metropolitan ...

at the Mitchell Interchange. These two Interstates run concurrently to the border, passing west of

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...

and

Kenosha Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenosh ...

on their way into

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

toward

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. Traffic is heavy along this stretch.

Speed limits

The speed limit on I-94 from the Minnesota border to the Waukesha–

county border is . Entering Milwaukee County, the limit decreases to . The limit is until just west of the Marquette Interchange, where it decreases to . This limit continues to the Airport Interchange, where it increases to . Between Rawson and Drexel avenues, the limit increases to and maintains this limit to the Illinois border.

History

I-94 was the first section of the

completed within the state of

. This section, between the unincorporated town of Goerke's Corners (currently at the intersection of US 18 and Barker Road) and Waukesha was built in 1956. The route was added segment-by-segment over the years and was completed to its current alignment on November 4, 1969. The routing through

displaced thousands of residents and businesses. A stretch between Lincoln and Greenfield avenues displaced 411 homes and 45 businesses. Milwaukee continues to see millions of dollars in lost tax revenue as a result of the freeway routing through the heart of the city. From 2004 until 2008, a portion of I-94 in Milwaukee was reconstructed as a part of the Marquette Interchange project.

Current construction

Beginning in 2009 and continuing until 2021, the of I-94 between the Mitchell Interchange and the Illinois state line will be widened from six to eight lanes. This includes a complete rebuild of the roadway and reconstruction of frontage roads and interchanges including a new design of the Mitchell Interchange in Milwaukee County.

Exit list

Auxiliary routes

Two spur routes of I-94 exist in Wisconsin, both are in the

Milwaukee metropolitan area The Milwaukee metropolitan area (also known as Metro Milwaukee or Greater Milwaukee) is a major metropolitan area located in Southeastern Wisconsin, consisting of the city of Milwaukee and the surrounding area. There are several definitions of the ...

. I-794 is a spur in downtown that accesses the southeast suburbs and the

Port of Milwaukee The Port of Milwaukee, branded as Port Milwaukee, is a port in the city of Milwaukee on Lake Michigan. It primarily serves Southeastern Wisconsin, Southeastern Minnesota, and Northern Illinois. The port owns of rail that connect to two Class I r ...

. It is known as the East–West Freeway from I-94 to Lincoln Memorial Drive and as the Lake Freeway from there to Carferry Drive. I-894 is a southwest bypass of the city that is known as the Zoo Freeway from the I-94 Zoo Interchange to I-43 at the Hale Interchange and as the Airport Freeway from there to I-94 at the Mitchell Interchange.

References

External links