Best rural design by WisDOT
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WIS 22 – Marquette County
This project was a “perpetuation” scope, but it included plenty of design challenges. Stakeholders included a large Amish population, a food bank, a caterpillar farm and more. One of the details was a revised cattle pass, where a outdated beam guard was completely removed, thanks in part to the new custom end walls. The shoulders and placement of beam guard also took into consideration the Amish users who regularly drive buggies on this highway.
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Best rural design by a consultant 
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WIS 76 – Winnebago County
MSA partnered with WisDOT on a project that corrected roadway deficiencies while minimizing environmental, social, and real estate impacts. This project tackled not one but three major intersections with roundabouts, each of them only as big as they needed to be. The project also regraded ditches to achieve desirable drainage.
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Best urban design by WisDOT
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WIS 66 – Portage County This project is a cost-effective solution to improve safety at the northbound ramp terminal, improve ride quality and reduce long-term maintenance. It had a relatively low cost and short duration. The design combined new and old with the ultimate goal of maximizing roadway life.
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Best urban design by a consultant 
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US 51 – Portage, Columbia County
KL engineering and WisDOT bring together this multi-modal facility situated between an urban setting and the levee of the Wisconsin River. Many alternatives were considered. The complex intersection at DeWitt St. was studied, and a reconfigured signal was expected to outperform a roundabout. Through the middle of this intersection runs the Portage Canal – in cooperation with the city, Department of Natural Resources (DNR), park service, and others, this navigable canal was improved. This project also modified and extended sidewalks, and made new and improved connections to the adjacent Ice Age National Scenic Trail.
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Best urban design by a consultant, special recognition
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US 51 and US 2 – Hurley, Iron County Before the modifications, the intersection was grade-separated, and the bridge was suffering from structural deficiencies, as well as limited vertical clearance. Ayres Associates and WisDOT weighed a wide range of alternatives in terms of cost, Oversize Overweight (OSOW) accommodation, expected safety performance, and long-term maintenance. The preferred alternative was a single-lane roundabout with bypass lanes. It maintains connections, occupies a smaller footprint, and cost at least $2 million less than reconstructing the interchange. Also making good use of the footprint, the four-lane highway leading into the roundabout was modified to a two-lane divided, to feed more safely into the roundabout. |
Best structure design by WisDOT
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WIS 85 – Rock Creek Bridge, Dunn County
This bridge was not just attractive and complex—the circumstances were also unusual. The existing bridge was made up of remnants of several previous structures; an old mill was on site, and a dam. The project included updates to an adjacent park, where the mill’s grinding stone rests in perpetuity. The structure required a good deal of coordination. Being in a sag vertical curve, the haunches required in-depth design. Sitting on weathered bedrock, the foundations include pre-bored piling.
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Best structure design by a consultant
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County A – Red River Bridge, Shawano County
This is the only crossing for miles, and spans an environmentally sensitive resource. The existing thru-girder had section loss and was posted at 30 tons, so the design PS&E date was accelerated 20 months to allow for construction in 2021. The new three-span structure was selected to minimize superstructure height, maintain adequate freeboard and minimize changes to the profile. It also kept a pier out of the middle of the river, where impacts to spawning habitats would be high. The deck design maintains the sidewalk while updating the rails. At the deck edges, stainless steel flashing should help reduce chloride penetration, and the extra heavy riprap is expected to protect the abutment berms from high flows.
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Best local program design
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Calhoun Road – City of Brookfield
The team of raSmith, the City of Brookfield, and WisDOT navigated design and environmental challenges to expand this important route from a two-lane rural roadway into a four-lane divided with continuous pedestrian facilities. The project covered a wide range of design topics: extensive public involvement, a trail, a significant box culvert and drainage work. Retaining walls and some split-profile sections helped limit impacts. Through a marsh area, the standard 24-foot median was narrowed to 10-feet – since its only function was to separate opposing traffic, thereby reducing wetland impacts. The project also created a significant change to the Canadian Pacific Railroad crossing.
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