Note: This project is currently under construction. For construction information, staging, and current traffic impacts, please visit the WIS 29 and County VV Construction website.
WIS 29/County VV Interchange Project
Brown County received approval of a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant to complete design and construction of a portion of the previous WIS 29 (County U - Woodland Road) Planning Study. The BUILD Grant scope includes construction of an interchange at WIS 29 & County VV.
The purpose of the WIS 29/County VV Interchange Project is to address the safety and mobility for traffic along WIS 29 between Shawano and Green Bay. The preferred alternative includes the following improvements:
- Construction of a diamond interchange at County VV
- Realignment of Milltown Road
- Connection from County VV to North Overland Road
- Removal of the existing Restricted Crossing U-Turn (RCUT) intersection at County VV
- Removal of access to WIS 29 from County U
View project newsletter
View overview map of project
View detail map of WIS 29/County VV interchange
View detail map of County U improvements
The final environmental document for this project is complete. To please see the
project environmental webpage to view the document.
Public Hearing - WIS 29/VV interchange
A public hearing for the WIS 29/County VV Interchange Project was on Wednesday, June 5, 2019, at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College Green Bay Campus. Please visit our
public involvement webpage to view displays and exhibits from this meeting.
Activities completed since the Public Hearing in June 2019 include the following:
- Public comments received and reviewed for proposed alternatives
- Preferred alternative selected (Alternative 3)
- Environmental Document submitted to Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and approved
- Right of Way Plat completed and filed with register of deeds.
Design Modifications include the following:
- Sidewalk added north of Marley Street/Evergreen Ave roundabout
- Location of cul-de-sac on North Overland Road was shifted north
- Reduced project limits on Marley Street due to future project on Marley Street
- Refined pond sizes, which resulted in a smaller pond adjacent to Evergreen Avenue
- Future posted speed for County VV/Marley Street was reduced to 35 MPH
WIS 29 (County U - Woodland Road) Planning Study
Other portions of the WIS 29 (County U - Woodland Road) Planning Study as described on this website are not currently funded and will not be part of this BUILD Grant project.
WIS 29, County U to Woodland Road, through villages of Hobart and Howard, and towns of Oneida and Pittsfield in Brown and Outagamie counties.
Map overview
Note: A project on WIS 29 from County FF to County U was completed in 2014.
Overview
WisDOT is preparing plans to implement recommendations from the 2008 WIS 29 Corridor Preservation Plan to identify the improvements necessary to convert WIS 29 from an expressway to a freeway and to restrict access elsewhere along the corridor.
- Recommendations were developed with the cooperation of area residents and officials.
- Constructing interchanges at County VV (no construction scheduled at this time) and County FF (completed).
- Construction of overpasses at County U and North Pine Tree Road (no construction scheduled at this time).
WIS 29 is designated as a Backbone Route. The highway serves interstate and inter-regional trips and functions as the primary route across northcentral Wisconsin, linking Green Bay with I-94 and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Current traffic volumes make WIS 29 the state’s most heavily traveled east-west highway north of I-94. These traffic volumes also indicate that a large amount of truck traffic travels WIS 29, highlighting the highway’s importance to Wisconsin’s industry, business and agriculture.
WIS 29 Planning Study includes: (Note: Funding has not been approved for all study recommendations. Brown County received a federal grant for construction of the WIS 29/County VV intersection. Once a project schedule has been finalized, updates to the website will be made accordingly.)
- WIS 29/County VV intersection - Design for converting to a diamond interchange
- WIS 29/North Pine Tree Rd. - Current Pine Tree Rd. to be extended over WIS 29
- Milltown Rd. - Realignment
- Old Highway 29 - Realignment
- WIS 29/County U - Overpass
- Preliminary design
- Preliminary design will allow for efficient implementation of the proposed improvements when necessary. However, no construction funding has been approved for study recommendations.
View maps of study area
Why is this study needed?
This project will help to preserve and enhance the long-term safety, operation and mobility of WIS 29.
Current traffic volumes range from 20,600 vehicles daily west of County U to 27,200 east of Woodland Road. Traffic at these locations is expected to increase to 31,000 vehicles daily (a 50 percent increase) west of County U and 49,400 vehicles daily (an 82 percent increase) east of Woodland Road, by 2034.
As traffic increases on WIS 29, the number of conflicts between vehicles entering and exiting from the existing access points on the highway will also increase.
Movements to/from the intersecting roads disrupt the flow of traffic as vehicles merge or cross WIS 29. Without improvements, crashes, especially side-swipe, 90 degree angle and rear-end, will increase.
Converting WIS 29 from an expressway to a freeway and limiting access will improve safety by restricting where vehicles enter and exit the highway and reduce the number of possible crashes.
Expressways and freeways
Expressways and freeways are both multi-lane divided roadways. The difference lies in how vehicles gain access to these roadways.
An expressway has at-grade intersections at major roadways.
- This section of WIS 29 has at-grade intersections at Brown County VV and County U.
- Each intersection poses a higher risk to drivers crossing or turning onto WIS 29. At lower traffic volumes, these are typically very safe.
A freeway only allows access at interchanges.
- A freeway would improve safety for vehicles crossing or turning onto busier highways like WIS 29.
Intersections and interchanges
- An intersection is where two roads meet at-grade.
- An interchange has on and off ramps.