The following alternatives have been considered to address the safety concerns at the WIS 32 and County V intersection. Each considered alternative is described below, including the reasons that eliminated the considered alternatives.
Vision improvements at intersection
This alternative would keep the stop for County V traffic only but clear the vision area needed for proper sight distance at the intersection.
- The northeast quadrant would be acquired and cleared of any obstructions within the standard vision triangle area.
- This would result in the removal of 5 trees and a residential house that is part of the adjoining farmstead.
While this alternative would improve vision at the intersection, it would be significantly impactful to the property owners residing at and operating the farmstead. Since there are other alternatives that better address the purpose and need, this alternative was eliminated from further consideration.
Transverse rumble strips
This alternative would install transverse rumble strips on the County V approaches to WIS 32, alerting approaching drivers to the upcoming two-way stop.
While this alternative would be the least costly alternative, the rumble strips are not expected to improve the failure to yield crashes, which are the predominant crash type at this location. Studies performed by WisDOT have shown that transverse rumble strips increase total crashes by 10% (rear end type crashes increase) but reduce fatal and injury crashes by 21%. However, those reductions were seen at intersections where failure to stop was the predominant type of crash. With only one crash since 2000 being a failure to stop, transverse rumble strips are not anticipated to reduce overall crashes or crash severity at this intersection.
Furthermore, the intersection’s failure to stop crash rate does not meet WisDOT warrants for installation of transverse rumble strips. It is also anticipated that transverse rumble strips would increase noise levels for adjacent property owners. Since this alternative is not anticipated to improve safety at the intersection, it was eliminated from further consideration.
All-way stop intersection
This alternative would convert the intersection to an all-way stop (also referred to as 4-way stop) with overhead stop signs and flashing lights to draw attention to the stop in all directions. County V would be realigned to the south to improve sight distance in the northeast quadrant. The northern leg of WIS 32 would be reconstructed to create better visibility of oncoming traffic with the profile.
While this alternative would improve intersection visibility, a stop condition on a state highway is not an anticipated type of control by motorists and may increase crashes at the intersection. Additionally, state highways are statutorily designated as “through” highways and typically should not be stopped unless other options have been evaluated and determined to not be feasible. Furthermore, a traffic analysis was completed for this intersection and all-way stop warrants were not met for both national and statewide criteria. For these reasons, this alternative was eliminated from further consideration.
Offset T intersection
This alternative would realign the western leg of County V further to the south to create two closely spaced, but offset T intersections. The eastern leg of County V would also be realigned to the south to increase vision at the intersection. Dedicated right turn lanes on WIS 32 would be included for both intersections, which would also be used as a bypass lane for stopped vehicles waiting to turn left onto County V. Flashing red lights would be installed on both stop signs for the County V approaches.
An offset T intersection reduces the conflict points (potential conflicting movements that could result in crashes) that exist with the intersection today, without disrupting through traffic on WIS 32. Reducing the conflict points reduces the crashes at the intersection. There are 32 conflict points at a traditional 4-leg intersection compared to 18 conflict points with an offset T intersection.
While this alternative would improve intersection visibility and improve safety, the offset T intersection would require approximately 4.6 acres of right of way impacts and cost $2.4 million. Additionally, the intersection configuration is not typical and may cause confusion with some drivers, especially for the through movement on County V. Since the safety benefits are more substantial and the impacts are smaller for other alternatives, the offset T intersection alternative was eliminated from further consideration.
All alternatives on this page have been dismissed. For information on the preferred alternative, please go the
WIS 32/V Homepage.