Alternate Route from Madison to Milwaukee

[samwise]

I have tickets to Rush on Friday night and will be driving from Madison to Milwaukee at about 5:00. The concert starts at 7:30 and I am afraid that I will end up missing some of it due to traffic issues. I know this is a bad time to be traveling due to rush hour and the delay but I am looking for any suggestions for the fastest way to get there.

[hawing]

Last Friday we left Madison at 4:00 for the Brewer game. The traffic backup began a little bit west of Lake Mills and it took us 55 minutes to travel 7 miles. We reached the MP parking lots at 6:30.

Given our experience, I would be surprised if you could leave Madison at 5:00 and not be late for a 7:30 concert, on a Friday night.

 

Coming back from Madison (before the I-94 crossover lanes were built), we had decent success taking the Hwy 16 exit from I-94. 16 goes around Pewaukee and Oconomowoc, then to Watertown. In Watertown we took Cty A which got us to Lake Mills and from there it was easy to get to the interstate.

 

While we were stopped in EB traffic last Friday, we wondered if we shouldn't have tried taking that route in reverse (exit at Lake Mills, then take A to Watertown, and 16 back to interstate) - but since the backup starts west of Lake Mills, I don't know if that would have done much good.

 

Other roads may be available (like 18 out of Madison? nope, that's closed at Jefferson), but bear in mind that up to 3" of additional rainfall is expected from Thursday night into Friday night. Smaller highways that may have opened since last week may be closed again by Friday afternoon if enough new rain falls by then.

 

If I were in your shoes, I'd try to leave earlier. If that's impossible, I'd keep checking the DOT road closures map before you leave Friday, and if you have a good, detailed map (like a DeLorme gazetteer) or a GPS navigator, bring it along.

[NeedMoreFans]

Maybe (if it's all open) drive up 151 to Hwy 19 in Sun Prairie. Take 19 East to Watertown, down 26 to the interstate at Johnson Creek. Or hop on 16 at Watertown and take that East.

[splitterpfj]

Is 19 open yet?

 

If it's not, I'd do the County A to 16 route, that worked very well for me last week.

[hawing]

The map I linked to in reply #1 above indicates that 19 is still closed in part of Jefferson County, about half the distance from Waterloo to Watertown.

 

The only problem with the County A to 16 route is if the traffic backup begins west of the Lake Mills exit (which was the case for us last Friday). If you're waiting half an hour just to get the last few miles to that exit, whether you take that alternate route or just suck it up and wait through the rest of the backup might be a wash (pun unintended).

[burniebrewer]

From madison.com:

 

The state plans to reopen today the westbound lanes of Interstate 94 near Johnson Creek that had been closed due to flooding.

The westbound portion of I-94 between Madison and Milwaukee has been closed for more than two weeks as motorists had to use a temporary crossover to travel into the eastbound lanes.

State Department of Transportation bridge inspectors inspected the westbound bridges and deemed them safe for travel. The reopening will re-establish two lanes of westbound traffic.

Eastbound traffic will continue to be restricted to one lane along a five-mile stretch between Johnson Creek and Lake Mills until WisDOT completes the work to change that segment from handling two-way traffic back to providing two lanes of eastbound traffic. That work is expected to occur through much of the day Friday, depending on the weather.

Motorists traveling along the eastbound corridor are asked to slow down, pay attention and expect some traffic delays in the work zone.

The temporary crossovers will be blocked off, but will be preserved in case they are needed again in the future.

[NeedMoreFans]

So the interstate will help you on the way home, but not on the way to Milwaukee...

 

Looking at that map...I'd take BB (Cottage Grove Rd) to Lake Mills, then A or B to Johnson Creek, then hop on the freeway.

[blatzlight]

Milwaukee has traffic?

[billyhallfan]

take BB out of Dane County, which hooks up To B in Jefferson, follow that into Lake Mills, turn left onto CTY. V, turn left onto Cty. A, take that into Watertown, turn right onto Hwy. 19 east, go through Watertown, merge onto 16 east, follow that to Pewaukee, get on 94 at milemarker 293

[TracyThom]

They opened Highway B in Jefferson County today. You can exit on Highway 73, go south towards Deerfield, and then catch Highway BB all the way into Johnson Creek. (Highway BB turns into Highway B at the Dane/Jefferson line.) Once in Johnny Creek, get on the Interstate and you are good to go.