U.S. Route 18 in Wisconsin

US Highway 18 (US 18) in the state of Wisconsin runs east–west across the southern part of the state. The highway serves as major connecting route between Madison and the southwest corner of the state. East of Madison, the route parallels Interstate 94 and serves as a local connection route to the communities along the interstate. US 18 enters Wisconsin at Prairie du Chien and ends in downtown Milwaukee at Lincoln Memorial Drive, across from the Milwaukee Art Museum.

US Highway 18
US 18 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by WisDOT
Length	182.16 mi[1] (293.16 km)
Existed	1926–present
Major junctions
West end	US 18 in Prairie du Chien
	US 61 in Fennimore US 151 in Dodgeville US 12 / US 14 in Madison US 14 / US 151 in Madison US 51 in Madison I-39 / I-90 in Madison US 12 in Cambridge I-94 in Waukesha I-41 / US 41 / US 45 in Milwaukee I-43 in Milwaukee
East end	Lincoln Memorial Drive in Milwaukee
Location
Counties	Crawford, Grant, Iowa, Dane, Jefferson, Waukesha, Milwaukee
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Wisconsin State Trunk Highway System Interstate US State Scenic Rustic ← WIS 17 → WIS 18

Route description

US 18 enters Crawford County from Iowa, crossing the Mississippi River using the Marquette-Joliet Bridge just west of Prairie du Chien. WIS 60 begins at the state line and runs concurrent with US 18 east from there. The two highways turn south at the along with Wisconsin Highway 35 downtown and head southeast out of the city. WIS 60 branches northeast from US 18 at Bridgeport. US 18 and WIS 35 continue southeast into Grant County[2] The two highways split at Patch Grove with WIS 35 continuing southeastward along with WIS 133 south, while US 18 turns eastward along with WIS 133 north. WIS 133 branches north at Mount Hope. US 18 and US 61 junction in downtown Fennimore. and WIS 80 north joins the highway in Montfort, on the Iowa County line.[3]

US 18/WIS 133 in Patch Grove

WIS 80 turns north at Cobb while US 18 continues east through Dodgeville, crossing WIS 23 and joining US 151 North. The two U.S. routes share a common expressway and bypass Ridgeway and Barneveld on the way east into Dane County.[4] in Dane County, US 18 and US 151 bypass Mount Horeb, crossing WIS 78 and WIS 92, and Verona and enter the Madison area, first passing through Fitchburg. Upon entering Madison, US 18 and US 151 join US 12 and US 14 east along the West Beltline Highway. US 151 and US 14 turn off the beltline three miles (5 km) east and US 12 and US 18 continue east, crossing US 51 and I-39 / I-90 southeast of Madison. Four miles east of the Interstates, US 12/US 18 becomes a two lane surface road again and passes through Cambridge, where US 12 splits southeast at the Jefferson County line.[5]

US 18 crosses WIS 89 and WIS 26 in Jefferson and passes through Sullivan.[6] Entering Waukesha County, Wisconsin, US 18 passes north of Dousman at WIS 67, south of the Kettle Moraine State Forest - Lapham Peak Unit and north of Wales at WIS 83.[7] US 18 then enters Waukesha along Summit Avenue. US 18 turns south from Summit Avenue on the new section of Les Paul Parkway (aka the new Waukesha West Bypass) and goes the entire route of Les Paul Parkway going around the West, South and East areas of the City of Waukesha along with the current WI 59 and WI 164 configuration from County Highway X and US 18 joins back up at Moreland Boulevard at the northeast terminus at the Les Paul Parkway/Wolf Road intersection. So US 18 is now re-routed by using Les Paul Parkway and doesn't go through Downtown Waukesha anymore. WIS 164 turns west onto I-94, and US 18 continues east into Brookfield along Blue Mound Road.[8] US 18 continues through Brookfield and Elm Grove along Blue Mound Road, and enter Milwaukee County and Wauwatosa.[7] US 18 crosses WIS 100, US 45, US 41, and I-41 near the Milwaukee County Zoo and continues east into Milwaukee.[9] At WIS 175, the highway shifts onto Wisconsin Ave. US 18 turns north onto North 35th street and east on to West Highland Ave where it crosses I-43 near downtown Milwaukee. US 18 turns south on 6th Street. East and westbound lanes split at State and 6th Streets; Eastbound continues south on 6th Street and then east on Wells Street. US 18 eastbound joins WIS 32 at North Broadway (southbound) and North Milwaukee Street (Northbound). Both directions turn east onto East Michigan Street as WIS 32 continues south. Westbound US 18 follows Milwaukee Street north from Michigan Street, turns west on State Street. At 6th Street, westbound US 18 reaches its eastern terminus, the junction of Michigan Street and Lincoln Memorial Drive five blocks east of WIS 32, and one block north of I-794.[10]

History

Old US 18 bridge over the Wisconsin River in Bridgeport

Prior to 1926, the route that US 18 follows today was designated as WIS 19.[11] By 1923, the WIS 19 extended from Prairie du Chien to Milwaukee.[12] Shortly after US 18 was signed, it was rerouted along WIS 30 and WIS 19 - the present route within Milwaukee. The remainder of the route was relocated to its current alignment in 1932.[1][13]

The eastern terminus was an originally stated in official DOT documentation to be the junction of East Michigan Street and North Harbor Drive. This matched what commercial street maps were showing after many years of inaccuracies.[1]

Between 1980 and 1990, 38 miles (61 km) of US 18/US 151 was upgraded to expressway standards, with the section around Verona being the final piece to be completed in 1995. US 12/US 18 was upgraded to expressway standards between I-39/I-90 to North Star Road, west of Cambridge. The remainder wasn't expanded, but straightened out to eliminate sharp curves.[1]

In 2019, as part of the construction to complete the Waukesha Bypass, US 18 has been rerouted as Temporary US 18 from WIS 83 in Wales, north along WIS 83 to I-94 and east along I-94 to exit 297 at Blue Mound Road where it rejoins the previous route.

That same year, two new interchanges opened in Fitchburg, replacing at-grade intersections with McKee Road (CTH PD) and Williamsburg Way.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Mississippi River		0.00	0.00		US 18 west – Marquette, Charles City	Continuation into Iowa
				Marquette–Joliet Bridge; Iowa–Wisconsin state line; western end of WIS 60 overlap
Crawford	Prairie du Chien				WIS 27 north – Eastman
					WIS 35 north – Lynxville	Western end of WIS 35 overlap
	Bridgeport				WIS 60 east – Wauzeka	Eastern end of WIS 60 overlap
Grant	Town of Patch Grove				WIS 35 south / WIS 133 south – Cassville Ferry	Eastern end of WIS 35 overlap; western end of WIS 133 overlap
	Mount Hope				WIS 133 north – Boscobel	Eastern end of WIS 133 overlap
	Fennimore				US 61 north – Boscobel	Western end of US 61 overlap
					US 61 south – Lancaster	Eastern end of US 61 overlap
Grant–Iowa county line	Montfort				WIS 80 south – Platteville	Western end of WIS 80 overlap
Iowa	Cobb				WIS 80 north – Highland, Muscoda	Eastern end of WIS 80 overlap
	Town of Linden				WIS 39 – Linden, Mineral Point
	Dodgeville				WIS 23 – Mineral Point, Spring Green
	Town of Dodgeville			47 60	US 151 south – Dubuque	Western end of US 151 overlap
	Town of Ridgeway			52	CTH-BB south (Ridgevue Road) / CTH-HHH – Ridgeway	Opened in 2018
	Barneveld			58	CTH-ID – Barneveld
Dane	Town of Blue Mounds			65	Bus. US 18 / Bus. US 151 / WIS 78 – Mount Horeb, Blanchardville	US 18 Business / US 151 Business only signed northbound
	Mount Horeb			69	Bus. US 18 / Bus. US 151 / CTH-ID – Mount Horeb	US 18 Business / US 151 Business only signed southbound
	Town of Springdale			70	CTH-PD to CTH-P – Cross Plains
	Town of Verona			75	CTH-G (Dairy Ridge Road) – Mount Vernon
	Verona			76	Bus. US 18 / Bus. US 151 / CTH-MV (W. Verona Avenue) / Epic Lane	US 18 Business / US 151 Business only signed eastbound
				77	WIS 69 – Belleville, New Glarus
				79	CTH-PB to CTH-M / Alt. US 18 / Alt. US 151 – Paoli, Oregon	Alternate US 18 and Alternate US 151 only signed eastbound
	Town of Verona			81	Bus. US 18 / Bus. US 151 / CTH-MV – Verona	Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
	Fitchburg			83A	CTH-PD (McKee Road)
				83B	Williamsburg Way
	Madison			258	US 12 west / US 14 west (Beltline Highway) / Midvale Boulevard – Dodgeville	Western end of US 12 and US 14 overlaps.
				258A	Seminole Highway	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance only
				259	Todd Drive
				260	CTH-D (Fish Hatchery Road)	Eastbound exits signed 260A (south) and 260B (north)
				261	US 14 east / US 151 north (Park Street) / Alt. US 18 / Alt. US 151 – Oregon	Eastern end of US 14 and US 151 overlaps; Alternate US 18 and Alternate US 151 only signed eastbound
				262	CTH-MM (Rimrock Road)
				263	John Nolen Drive
	Monona			264	CTH-BW east (West Broadway)
				265	Monona Drive
	Madison			266	US 51 (Stoughton Road)
				267	I-39 / I-90 to I-94 – Janesville, Chicago, Wisconsin Dells, Milwaukee	Signed as exits 267A (east/south) and 267B (west/north); I-39 / I-90 exit 142
	Town of Cottage Grove			272	CTH-N – Cottage Grove, Stoughton
	Town of Deerfield				WIS 73 – Deerfield, Edgerton	Interchange
	Cambridge				WIS 134 north
					US 12 east – Fort Atkinson	Eastern end of US 12 overlap
Jefferson	Town of Jefferson				WIS 89 north – Lake Mills	Western end of WIS 89 overlap
					WIS 89 south – Fort Atkinson	Eastern end of WIS 89 overlap
					WIS 26 – Fort Atkinson, Johnson Creek	Interchange
	Jefferson				Bus. WIS 26 (Main Street)
Waukesha	Dousman				WIS 67 – Oconomowoc, Eagle
	Wales				WIS 83 – Hartland, Mukwonago	Roundabout
	Waukesha				WIS 164 south	Western end of WIS 164 overlap
					I-94 / WIS 164 north – Milwaukee, Madison	Eastern end of WIS 164 overlap
Milwaukee	Wauwatosa				WIS 100 (N. 108th Street)
					I-41 / US 41 / US 45
					WIS 181 (Glenview Avenue)
	Milwaukee				To WIS 175 / Wisconsin Avenue
					WIS 57 south (N. 27th Street)	Western end of WIS 57 overlap
					WIS 57 north (N. 20th Street)	Eastern end of WIS 57 overlap
					I-43 north – Green Bay	Northbound I-43 entrance and southbound I-43 exit only
					WIS 145 north (N. 6th Street)	Western end of WIS 145 overlap
					WIS 145 ends	Eastern end of WIS 145 overlap
					WIS 32 north (E. Wells Street)	Western end of WIS 32 overlap
					WIS 32 south (E. Michigan Street)	Eastern end of WIS 32 overlap
					Lincoln Memorial Drive
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

See also

•  U.S. Roads portal

References

1. Bessert, Chris. "Wisconsin Highways: Highways 10-19 (U.S. Highway 18)". Wisconsin Highways. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
2. Crawford Co (pdf) (Map). Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
3. Grant Co (pdf) (Map). Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
4. Iowa Co (pdf) (Map). Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
5. Dane Co (PDF) (Map). Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (pdf) on June 14, 2011. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
6. Jefferson Co (PDF) (Map). Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (pdf) on April 13, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
7. Waukesha Co (PDF) (Map). Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (pdf) on April 15, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
8. City of Waukesha Ward and Aldermanic Districts Map (pdf) (Map). City of Waukesha. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
9. Milwaukee Co (PDF) (Map). Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (pdf) on January 25, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
10. Google (January 1, 2008). "US-18, Milwaukee" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
11. Official Auto Trails Map (Map). 1:1,081,344. Rand McNally. 1921. p. 330-331.
12. "Complete Plans for Roadwork". Telegraph-Herald. Dubuque, Iowa. April 2, 1923. p. 5. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
13. "Rand McNally Auto Road Atlas". Rand McNally. 1926. Retrieved January 1, 2008.

External links

• Waukesha Bypass Project Information