Transportation timeline

1600-1900

• 1634 - French explorer Jean Nicolet arrives at what is now Green Bay.
• 1672 - Marquette and Jolliet expedition through Wisconsin by canoe.
• 1783 - Territory comprising what is now Wisconsin comes under United States control. Transportation is primarily by trails and waterways.
• 1836 - Wisconsin becomes a territory. Territorial roads are authorized. The first military road completed from Ft. Howard to Ft. Crawford.
• 1847 - Milwaukee to Watertown plank road constructed. Stagecoach mail service begins.
• 1848 - Wisconsin becomes the 30th U.S. state. State roads are authorized to accommodate travel by horse and horse-drawn vehicles.
• 1850 - First railroad in Wisconsin from Milwaukee to Wauwatosa.
• 1871 - First automobile developed in Wisconsin by Dr. J.W. Carhart.
• 1880 - The bicycle becomes a viable means of transportation.

1901-1925

• 1905 - Auto license law passed.
• 1908 - Constitution amended to allow state funding of construction and improvement of public highways.
• 1909 - First aircraft flight in Wisconsin.
• 1911 - Wisconsin State Highway Commission is established when the State Aid Law is enacted by the legislature.
• 1913 - Legislature gives the State Highway Commission authority to create seven divisions in locations around the state.
• 1916 - Federal Aid Road Act provides funding for the development of paved roads.
• 1917 - The 5,000-mile state trunk highway system is established. First Wisconsin roadmap is produced.
• 1918 - Wisconsin develops uniform highway classification and numbering system which is later adopted nationally.
• 1921 - Federal Highway Act.
• 1925 - State Highway Commission requires prequalification of contractors.

1926-1950

• 1926 - U.S. highway system is established.
• 1927 - State Highway Commission Construction Department established.
• 1930s - During the depression many roads are built as part of New Deal public works projects.
• 1931 - State Highway Commission assumes full responsibility and expense for state trunk highway maintenance.
• 1933 - State Highway Commission acquires and continues operation of the Merrimac free ferry.
• 1937 - State Highway Commission places a bituminous weatherproof surface on state trunk highway system.
• 1939 - The Wisconsin Motor Vehicle Department is created by the state legislature to consolidate registration, licensing and enforcement. This is how the present-day Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and Wisconsin State Patrol were formed.
  
• 1941-1945 - World War II impacts transportation through rationing of fuel and parts.
• 1945 - Wisconsin state highway fund created and segregated from the general fund.
• 1946 - Wisconsin Aeronautics Commission created.
• 1947 - State trunk highway system enlarged to 12,000 miles.

1951-1975

• 1953 - State Patrol receives first state-purchased cars for troopers.
• 1956 - The Interstate Highway Act was enacted under President Eisenhower to create a quality network of highways throughout the nation to serve national defense during the Cold War.
• 1956 - "Bare pavement" winter maintenance policy adopted. State Highway Commission installs first computer.
• 1958 - First segment of interstate highway in Wisconsin dedicated - 7.5 miles of I-94 between Goerke's Corners and CTH SS in Waukesha County.
• 1959 - Edge line pavement marking started.
• 1960 - First interstate safety rest areas are constructed on I-94.
• 1965 - Legislature adopts new highway safety improvement law.
• 1967 - Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is created by merging the Divisions of Highways, Aeronautics and the Department of Motor Vehicles.
• 1968 - Highway Beautification Act. Bridge Inspection Program mandated by Federal Aid Highway Act.
• 1969 - Wisconsin rural interstate system essentially completed.
• 1970 - Congress enacts the Environmental Protection Law.
• 1973 - The oil embargo and energy crisis lead to the enactment of the 55-mph rural speed limit.
• 1973 - Wisconsin Rustic Roads Program created.

1976-2000

• 1976 - Policy of preserving existing roads, rather than building new roads, was initiated.
• 1978 - Congress deregulates airlines.
• 1980 - Six-year Highway Improvement Program approved.
• 1981 - Final segment of interstate highway in Wisconsin completed on I-43.
• 1982 - Child restraint law covering under-four age group in effect.
• 1984 - 30 miles of I-90/94, from Madison to Portage, are reconstructed from four to six lanes.
• 1987 - Mandatory seat belt law enacted. 
• 1987 - Relocated Madison South Beltline opens.
• 1988 - I-43 is extended from Milwaukee to Beloit.
• 1992 - Construction Quality Management Program is implemented.
• 1995 – Comprehensive, multimodal transportation plan, Translinks 21, is adopted.
• 1996 - I-39 is extended into Wisconsin from the Illinois border to Wausau.
• 1996 - WisDOT establishes internet presence on information superhighway.
• 1998 - Airport Development Program implemented.
• 2000 - US 53 four-lane expressway from Eau Claire to Superior completed. WIS 29 four-lane expressway from Chippewa Falls to Green Bay completed.
• 2000 - Graduated Driver License (GDL) system is implemented.

2001-2025

• 2001 - US 51 four-lane expressway up to US 8 completed.
  
• 2003 - Wisconsin’s standard for drunk driving lowered from a 0.10 percent blood alcohol content (BAC) to 0.08 percent BAC; bill took effect on September 30.
• 2003 - Merrimac Ferry ColSac II is replaced with ColSac III.
  
• 2003 - US 10 expanded, connecting the Fox Valley with central Wisconsin.
• 2003 - "Baby Luke" law takes effect. Prohibits motorists from driving if they have any detectable amount of a controlled substance in their system.
• 2004 - A new bridge opens at La Crosse carrying US 14/61/WIS 16 over the Mississippi River.
• 2004 - Reconstruction of the Marquette Interchange in Milwaukee begins and is completed in 2008.
• 2005 - The Milwaukee Airport Rail Station opens at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, becoming the first passenger rail-to-airport link in the Midwest.
• 2006 - Annual indexing of the state's gas tax repealed in 2005, with the last indexing adjustment made April 1, 2006.
• 2009 - Primary safety belt enforcement law takes effect in Wisconsin on July 1.
• 2010 - Law to ban texting while driving takes effect in Wisconsin on December 1.
• 2011 - 100th anniversary of an official Wisconsin transportation agency in recognition of state legislation enacted in 1911 that established a State Highway Commission.
• 2012 - Law to prohibit cell phone use by new drivers is implemented effective November 1.
• 2012 - The department’s MAPSS Performance Improvement Program is launched.
  
• 2013 - Wisconsin begins issuing driver licenses and ID cards that are compliant with federal REAL ID requirements.
• 2015 - Speed limit along interstates raised to 70 mph. 
• 2016 - State law makes it illegal to talk on a handheld mobile device while driving in work zones.
• 2016 - First Diverging Diamond Interchange opens in Wisconsin at I-39/90 and WIS 11 (Avalon Road) interchange near Janesville.
• 2017 - New seven-character license plate debuts.
• 2021 - Buckle Up Phone Down traffic safety campaign launches. 
• 2021 - Law bans handheld cell phone use within 500 feet of an authorized emergency vehicle or tow truck with its lights on, creating this additional protection for roadside workers.
• 2022 - Wisconsin Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program launches. 
• 2022 - Wisconsin DMV first in nation to share driver data electronically state-to-state.
• 2022 - First Flex Lane opens on US 12/18 (Madison Beltline) in Dane County.
• 2023 - Safety First initiative launches with the formation of an agencywide work group.
• 2024 - Orange stickers required on EV/hybrid cars now included with annual registration renewals.
• 2024 - Second daily Amtrak service (branded as Borealis) begins between Twin Cities and Chicago, via Milwaukee.
• 2025 - Wisconsin DMV debuts new B series seven-character license plates.
• 2025 - First modernized Safety Rest Area opens in Wisconsin.