Wisconsin Highway 78
Route information | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Maintained by WisDOT | ||||
Length | 92.83 mi[1] (149.40 km) | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | IL 78 in Gratiot | |||
North end | I-39 / I-90 / I-94 in Portage | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Wisconsin | |||
Counties | Lafayette, Iowa, Green, Dane, Sauk, Columbia | |||
Highway system | ||||
|
State Trunk Highway 78 (often called Highway 78, STH-78 or WIS 78) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It runs north–south in south central Wisconsin from Portage to the Illinois border near Gratiot.
History
In the 1920s, Highway 78 was originally located on the Door County Peninsula on what is now Highway 57.
In 1963, the segment of STH-78 from the new I-90/I-94 freeway interchange south of Portage northerly to Highway 33 was improved to a four-lane divided facility. A year later, this four-lane divided highway (and the STH-78 designation with it) was extended northerly across the Wisconsin River then bypassing Portage to the west before merging into the existing two-lane route of US 51 north of the city. The entire four-lane divided portion of STH-78 from I-90/I-94 northerly to US-51 was shown as a full freeway with interchange beginning with the 1966 official state highway map, so it can be assumed the conversion to freeway occurred about this time (c.1965). In more recent decades, the short segment of STH-78 freeway was the only portion of the route from I-90/I-94 at Portage northerly past Wausau that was not signed as part of US-51, although signs along the route did indicate "TO US-51." Then in 1996, US-51 from Rothschild (south of Wausau) southerly to Portage was concurrently designated as Interstate 39 and to connect this new Interstate route with nearby I-90/I-94, the entire STH-78 freeway from US-51 north of Portage to I-90/I-94 was redesignated as part of I-39, with STH-78 losing approximately eight miles of length in the process.
Major intersections
County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lafayette | Town of Gratiot | 0.0 | 0.0 | IL 78 south – Warren | Continuation into Illinois |
Gratiot | 5.8 | 9.3 | WIS 11 west – Shullsburg | Western end of WIS 11 concurrency | |
6.2 | 10.0 | WIS 11 east – Monroe | Eastern end of WIS 11 concurrency | ||
Argyle | 20.1 | 32.3 | WIS 81 west – Darlington | Western end of WIS 81 concurrency | |
20.4 | 32.8 | WIS 81 east – Monroe | Eastern end of WIS 81 concurrency | ||
Iowa | No major intersections | ||||
Green | Town of York | 32.5 | 52.3 | WIS 39 west – Mineral Point | Western end of WIS 39 concurrency |
32.7 | 52.6 | WIS 39 east – New Glarus | Eastern end of WIS 39 concurrency | ||
Dane | Mount Horeb | 45.7 | 73.5 | US 18 / US 151 – Madison, Dodgeville Bus. US 18 east / Bus. US 151 east | US 151 exit 65; southern end of Business US 18 / Business US 151 concurrency |
47.5 | 76.4 | Bus. US 18 east / Bus. US 151 north / CTH-ID (Springdale Street) / WIS 92 south (8th Street) | Roundabout; northern end of Business US 18 / Business US 151 concurrency | ||
Black Earth | 57.6 | 92.7 | US 14 east – Madison | Southern end of US 14 concurrency | |
Mazomanie | 59.9 | 96.4 | US 14 west / WIS 19 north – Spring Green | Northern end of US 14 concurrency; southern end of WIS 19 concurrency | |
Town of Mazomanie | 61.3 | 98.7 | WIS 19 east – Waunakee | Northern end of WIS 19 concurrency | |
Town of Roxbury | 67.8 | 109.1 | US 12 east – Madison | Eastern end of US 12 concurrency | |
Sauk | Sauk City | 68.4 | 110.1 | US 12 west / WIS 60 west (Phillips Boulevard) | Western end of US 12 concurrency; southern end of WIS 60 concurrency |
Prairie du Sac | 70.0 | 112.7 | WIS 60 east (Prairie Street) | Northern end of WIS 60 concurrency | |
Town of Merrimac | 77.3 | 124.4 | WIS 113 north – Baraboo | Western end of WIS 113 concurrency | |
Merrimac | 79.9 | 128.6 | WIS 113 south – Merrimac Ferry | Eastern end of WIS 113 concurrency | |
Columbia | Town of Caledonia | 92.83 | 149.40 | I-39 south / I-90 / I-94 – Wisconsin Dells, Madison I-39 north – Portage | Roadway continues as northbound I-39 |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
|
References
- ^ Bessert, Chris. "Wisconsin Highways: Highways 70-79 (Highway 78)". Wisconsin Highways. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
External links
- Media related to Wisconsin Highway 78 at Wikimedia Commons