US 51 corridor

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US 51 corridor

US 51 corridor

US 51 is an important north-south corridor in Dane County which provides access to major employment and residential areas, serves regional traffic to outlying communities, and intersects Madison's busiest east-west arterial, East Washington Avenue (US 151). The corridor connects the incorporated communities of Stoughton, McFarland, Madison and DeForest, and many rural towns.

The US 51 corridor has three distinct segments in Dane County:

North segment - US 51 expansion project from Interstate 39/90/94 to the north Dane County line.
Central segment - Stoughton Road corridor study from Terminal Drive/Voges Road in the village of McFarland to Token Creek Parkway in the town of Burke.
South segment - US 51 corridor study from Terminal Drive in the village of McFarland to I-39/90/94 east of the city of Stoughton.

Increasing traffic and development in the vicinity of US 51 have led to a number of issues in the corridor, particularly:

A growing number of crashes.
Congestion at many intersections.
Diverted traffic through neighborhoods.
Impediments to pedestrian and bicycle travel.

The projected doubling of jobs and residences in the corridor by 2030 will likely increase these problems. WisDOT is working to address these concerns through a multi-faceted corridor management program that makes the most of the existing system while also analyzing options to address long-term problems.

The goal of the US 51 corridor management effort is to address the safety, congestion and multi-modal access concerns by:

Identifying and implementing short-term improvements on an ongoing basis.
Identifying and evaluating impacts of the possible longer-term improvement alternatives.
Sharing information with the community and gathering comments regarding roadway conditions and road improvement alternatives.

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