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Transportation at a glance

Wisconsin's transportation infrastructure has come a long way over the last century. It has developed from a system of two-lane roads and highways, grass landing strips, wooden piers and locomotives, to a network of multi-lane divided highways, airports, modern water ports, efficient transit systems and rail lines linking the state with markets throughout the world.

Transportation touches the lives of nearly everyone every day. Whether traveling to work, school, or to a favorite vacation spot, Wisconsin's transportation network provides the means to get there.

Travel by the numbers - Highways and roads

• 11,800 miles of state and Interstate highways
• 103,000 miles of county highways, town and municipal streets
• 13,700 local and state bridges
• 111 lightly traveled rural roads designated as part of the Rustic Road System
• 59 billion vehicle miles of travel (VMT) on Wisconsin roads each year
• More than 4 million licensed drivers and nearly 5.5 million registered vehicles

Transit systems

• 81 public bus and shared-ride taxi systems

Airports

• 131 public use airports
• About 6,000 active registered aircraft
• About 6.6 million people boarding commercial flights in Wisconsin each year
• About 119 million pounds of cargo shipped by air each year

Railroads

• Approximately 3,500 miles of track
• 180 million tons of cargo shipped on freight railroads each year
• Two Amtrak passenger train routes; the Hiawatha Service between Milwaukee and Chicago carries around 800,000 passengers each year

Harbors

• 23 commercial ports handle more than 40 million tons of cargo each year

Bicycle and pedestrian facilities

• 11% of all Wisconsin trips are made by walking or bicycling

Questions about the content of this page:
Contact: Office of Public Affairs, opa.exec@dot.wi.gov 
Last modified: January 12, 2012