Interstate 41 (I-41) is a north–south

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

connecting the interchange of I-94 and U.S. Route 41 (US 41), located about south of the

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

–

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

border at the end of the Tri-State Tollway in metropolitan Chicago, to an interchange with I-43 in metropolitan

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. The designation travels concurrently with US 41 for its entire length, as well as portions of I-894, US 45, I-43, and sections of I-94 in Wisconsin and

. The route was officially added to the Interstate Highway System on April 7, 2015, and connects

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and Green Bay with the Fox Cities.

Route description

I-41 begins at the I-94/US 41 interchange in

Russell, Illinois Russell is an unincorporated community in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The community is located on Russell Road, a few miles east of Interstate 94, and was named for industrialist and political figure Russell Sage, who was connected wi ...

, located about south of the Wisconsin–Illinois border at the end of the Tri-State Tollway. The highway continues north concurrently with I-94 as part of the North-South Freeway to the Mitchell Interchange in

, turns west to run concurrently with I-894 and I-43 as the Airport Freeway to the Hale Interchange (forming a brief

wrong-way concurrency Wrong way may refer to: * a traffic sign to warn of wrong-way driving * nickname of Douglas Corrigan (1907–1995), an American aviator who flew east from New York to Ireland instead of west to California in 1938 * nickname of Roy Riegels (1908–1 ...

with I-43), and turns north to run concurrently as the Zoo Freeway with I-894 and US 45 to the Zoo Interchange, with the US 45 concurrency continuing until the I-41/US 41/US 45 split near Richfield. The Interstate roughly parallels I-43, which runs north–south along

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from Milwaukee to Green Bay. I-41 runs through the Fox Valley (including the cities of Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, and Appleton, along with the Fox Cities). At Appleton, I-41 intersects US 10 and State Trunk Highway 441 (WIS 441), the latter of which is a freeway that forms a beltway around Appleton by running around the south and east side of the city and back to I-41. Further north, I-41 intersects WIS 172 on the south side of Green Bay, before running along the city's west side to its end at the I-43 interchange. The Interstate is long and located almost entirely within the state of Wisconsin and is completely concurrent with a slightly adjusted alignment of US 41 to its termination in Green Bay. File:Wauwatosa June 2024 082 (Interstate 41).jpg, I-41 in Wauwatosa File:Interstate 41 sign.jpg, Newly installed I-41/US 41 sign south of WIS 145 near Richfield from June 2015

History

The freeway portion of US 41 and US 45 from Milwaukee through the Fox Valley to Green Bay was proposed and designated as an Interstate Highway as part of the 2005 highway funding bill ( Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users). In the initial language of the bill, the route was designated Interstate 41, which correlates with the U.S. Highway it parallels and also complies with the Interstate naming guidelines through the

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway A highway is any public or private road ...

(AASHTO). The final bill omitted the I-41 designation. In 2009, Green Bay officials began a campaign to have US 41 designated as a northern extension of I-55 from its current termination in

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, with the alternative being designated as a spur of I-43. At the spring meeting of the Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbers of AASHTO on May 18, 2012, the I-55 designation was discussed by the committee. Coordination would have been required with the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...

(FHWA) and the

Illinois Department of Transportation The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is a state agency in charge of state-maintained public roadways of the U.S. state of Illinois. In addition, IDOT provides funding for rail, public transit and airport projects and administers f ...

(IDOT) on the I-55 designation. However, IDOT officials were not interested in signing an extension of I-55 from its Chicago terminus to the state line. Therefore, 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 sta ...

(WisDOT) decided to seek a different designation not requiring the cooperation of their Illinois counterparts. Four designations were proposed by WisDOT and put up for public review: two new primary designations (I-41 and I-47) and two auxiliary designations (I-594 and I-643). At the end of October 2012, WisDOT submitted I-41 to AASHTO for consideration at their fall Special Committee meeting, where it was conditionally approved on November 16, 2012, pending FHWA concurrence. Official approval of I-41 then hinged on weight limit exceptions being approved for the route, which initially passed the

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as H.R. 4745 and awaited a

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

vote as S. 2438, but there were later passed in a different bill (H.R. 83) on December 16, 2014. On April 9, 2015, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker announced that the FHWA had approved I-41 as part of the Interstate Highway System. According to WisDOT, the approval came two days earlier. WisDOT replaced or modified 3,500 signs before and near September 2015 after coordination with IDOT and the FHWA (signs erected in 2014 and into 2015 before approval of the designation had the I-41 shield obscured until approval). Over the next 5–10 years, shoulders are slated to be rebuilt as older parts of the highway are rebuilt. The redesignation to Interstate status also makes the route subject to the Highway Beautification Act, meaning current advertising billboards along the Milwaukee-to-Green Bay portion of the road can no longer be upgraded or enlarged nor can new signs be added.

Future

Beginning in early 2024, WisDOT plans to start several projects to improve I-41 in the Appleton/ Fox Cities metro area between Neenah and De Pere. The projects will include widening the Interstate from two to three lanes in each direction on a stretch between Appleton and De Pere, upgrading interchanges, reconstructing bridges, and repaving sections of the freeway, along with the new South Bridge Connector project adding a new Fox River span south of De Pere with an I-41 interchange. These projects are expected to be completed by 2030.

Exit list

References