Interstate 94 in Wisconsin
Interstate 94 runs east–west through the western, central, and southeastern portions of the US state of Wisconsin. A total of of I-94 lie in the state.
Route description
The route, cosigned with US Highway 12, enters from Minnesota just east of the Twin Cities. The route passes north of Menomonie and south of Eau Claire before turning southeast and heading toward Tomah where it joins I-90. The two Interstates run concurrently for the next to Madison. I-94 enters the state as a six-lane facility which reduces to four-lanes at exit 4.I-94 passes by the popular tourist destination of Wisconsin Dells.
The route converges with I-39 southeast of Tomah. This concurrency is the longest three-route concurrency of the Interstate Highway System and only one of three in existence. The interchanges mark a return to a six-lane configuration.
I-94 turns eastward toward Milwaukee at what is commonly known as the "Badger Interchange" where the three Interstates meet with State Trunk Highway 30, which was formerly designated as a Madison–Milwaukee highway before I-94 was constructed. 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 east and south of this point, and through Waukesha and Milwaukee counties, is officially designated the East–West Freeway, though very few organizations, including the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's traffic control center in the area actually use that name. I-94 passes through Downtown Milwaukee, turning southbound and joining I-43 for, along a freeway 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 at the Mitchell Interchange, remaining signed as an eastbound road to Chicago and a westbound road to Milwaukee despite its completely divergent road direction. These two Interstates run concurrently to the border, passing west of Racine and Kenosha on their way into Illinois toward Chicago. As with all traffic along the southern Lake Michigan corridor, I-94 has moderate to high traffic at all times of day.
Speed limits
The speed limit on I-94 from the Minnesota border to the Waukesha–Milwaukee 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 state line.History
I-94 was the first section of the Interstate Highway System completed within the state of Wisconsin. This section, near Johnson Creek in Jefferson County, was built in 1958. The route was added segment-by-segment over the years and was completed to its current alignment on November 4, 1969. The routing through Milwaukee 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. Shortly after from 2009 to 2021, the of I-94 between the Mitchell Interchange and the Illinois state line were widened from six to eight lanes, including a complete rebuild of the roadway and reconstruction of frontage roads and interchanges including a new design of the Mitchell Interchange in Milwaukee County. The Wisconsin stretch of Interstate 94 has been called one of the most dangerous highways in the region by several media outlets, as 115 crashes and 132 fatalities have been reported on the highway over a 10-year stretch of time.