U.S. Route 51 in Wisconsin

US Highway 51
Route information
Maintained by WisDOT
Length:	316.59 mi[1] (509.50 km)
Existed:	November 11, 1926 – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 51 in Beloit
	US 14 in Janesville I-39 / I-90 / WIS 73 in Edgerton I-39 / I-90 in Stoughton US 12 / US 18 in Madison US 151 in Madison I-39 / I-90 / I-94 in Madison I-39 in Portage US 10 / WIS 66 in Stevens Point I-39 / WIS 29 in Rothschild US 8 in Bradley
North end:	US 2 in Hurley
Location
Counties:	Rock, Dane, Columbia, Marquette, Waushara, Portage, Marathon, Lincoln, Oneida, Vilas, Iron
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced Wisconsin State Trunk Highway System Interstate U.S. State Byways Rustic ← WIS 50 WIS 52 →

U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) in the U.S. state of Wisconsin runs north–south down the central part of the state. It enters from Illinois at Beloit, and runs north to its northern terminus in Hurley where it junctions with US 2. Much of the route of US 51 runs concurrently with Interstate 39 (I-39).

Route description

From Beloit, US 51 passes through Janesville and Edgerton. US 51 joins with I-39 and I-90 for about five miles (8.0 km) before splitting off and heading west to Stoughton. US 51 then passes through the east side of Madison as a side route, known locally as Stoughton Road, paralleling to the west of I-39/I-90. North of Madison, US 51 parallels the Interstates on the east side passing through De Forest, Leeds, North Leeds, Poynette and Portage. In North Leeds, US 51 has a major junction with Wisconsin Highway 22 (WIS 22) and WIS 60 where US 51 heads west a bit with WIS 60 before splitting back north toward Poynette. The route joins I-39 north of Portage. There is a short concurrency with WIS 23 from Endeavor to WIS 82 near Oxford. They stay joined until I-39 ends at WIS 29. Along the way, the route bypasses the small communities of Endeavor, Packwaukee, Westfield, Coloma, Hancock, Plainfield, Plover, and Whiting prior to arriving at Stevens Point. Proceeding north from Stevens Point, the highway bypasses Knowlton, Mosinee, and Rothschild where I-39 terminates at the WIS 29 east interchange. US 51 continues on with WIS 29 for five miles (8.0 km) bypassing Schofield, then proceeding into Wausau where WIS 29 splits to the west. US 51 continues as a freeway to Merrill, passing Brokaw along the way.

US 51, along with I-39, in northern Wisconsin

The section of US 51 from Portage at its junction with I-39 to Merrill, as well as from County Trunk Highway S (CTH-S) to US 8 in Tomahawk, is built to Interstate Highway standards. In between these freeway segments exists an expressway from Lincoln Drive north of Merrill further north to CTH-S south of Tomahawk with five grade-level intersections. This will eventually be converted to a freeway, making US 51 a continuous freeway from Portage to Tomahawk.^[2]

The highway becomes a two-lane road just north of US 8 at the Oneida County line. The highway passes through Minocqua, Manitowish Waters, and Mercer on its northwest trek toward Hurley and its terminus at a junction with US 2.^[3]

History

US 51's northern terminus at US 2 near Hurley

Prior to 1926, what is now US 51 was State Trunk Highway 10.^[4]

US 51 was upgraded to a full freeway over a period of 25 years from Merrill to Portage. The freeway continues around Portage to the west as I-39 (originally as WIS 78) to connect with I-90 and I-94 while US 51 continues along surface roads into and through Portage. In the 1990s, US 51 was designated as I-39 from its junction with WIS 29 eastbound in Wausau to where it left the freeway at exit 92 in Portage. US 51 remained cosigned with I-39 along this entire stretch of road. Further expansion of the highway northward took place in 2000, when the highway was upgraded to an expressway up to CTH-S. In addition, a super-two freeway from CTH-S to US 8 was upgraded to a four-lane freeway.^[4]

The Wisconsin mileage of US 51 is designated by the state as the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway.^[5]

Exit list

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Rock	Beloit	0.00	0.00		US 51 south – Rockford	Continuation into Illinois
		1.49– 1.50	2.40– 2.41		WIS 81
	Town of Rock	10.69– 10.70	17.20– 17.22		WIS 11
	Janesville	14.36	23.11		WIS 26 north	Southern terminus of WIS 26
		13.39	21.55		Bus. US 14 east	Southern end of Bus. US 14 concurrency
		13.75	22.13		Bus. US 14 west	Northern end of BUs. US 14 concurrency
	Town of Janesville	17.49	28.15		US 14
	Edgerton	25.39	40.86		WIS 59
Dane	Town of Albion	28.20– 28.61	45.38– 46.04	160	I-39 south / I-90 east – Chicago WIS 73 north	Southern end of I-39/I-90 concurrency
		32.07	51.61	156	I-39 north / I-90 west – Madison	Northern end of I-39/I-90 concurrency
	Stoughton	39.86	64.15		WIS 138 south	Eastern end of WIS 138 concurrency
	Town of Dunkirk	40.83	65.71		WIS 138 north	Western end of WIS 138 concurrency
	McFarland	49.67	79.94	—	Siggelkow Road	Interchange
	Madison	51.22– 51.23	82.43– 82.45	—	US 12 / US 18	Exit 266 on US 12/US 18
	Town of Blooming Grove	53.75	86.50	—	CTH-BB (Cottage Grove Road)	Interchange
		54.93	88.40	—	Milwaukee Street	Interchange
		55.40	89.16	—	WIS 30	Interchange
	Madison	56.28– 56.29	90.57– 90.59		US 151 (Washington Avenue)
	Town of Burke	60.61– 60.63	97.54– 97.57	—	I-39 / I-90 / I-94 – Madison, Wisconsin Dells	Exit 132 on I-39/I-90/I-94
		61.70– 61.74	99.30– 99.36	61	WIS 19 – Sun Prairie, Waunakee
	Town of Windsor	63.25	101.79	63	Windsor Road	Dumbbell interchange
	DeForest			65	CTH-V
Columbia	Town of Leeds	71.10	114.42		WIS 22 north	Southern terminus of WIS 22
		71.54	115.13		WIS 60 east	Eastern end of WIS 60 concurrency
	Town of Arlington	73.48	118.25		WIS 60 west	Western end of WIS 60 concurrency
	Town of Dekorra	84.76– 84.84	136.41– 136.54		WIS 16	Southern end of WIS 16 concurrency
	Portage	88.98	143.20		WIS 16 west (Wisconsin Street)	Northern end of WIS 16 concurrency
		89.10	143.39		WIS 33 (Cook Street)
	Town of Fort Winnebago	91.94	147.96	92	I-39 south – Madison	Southern end of I-39 concurrency
Marquette	Town of Moundville	100.38	161.55	100	WIS 23 west / CTH-P – Wisconsin Dells, Endeavor	South end of WIS 23 overlap
	Town of Oxford	104.56	168.27	104	CTH-D – Packwaukee	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		106.72	171.75	106	WIS 23 east / WIS 82 west – Oxford, Montello	North end of WIS 23 overlap
	Westfield	113.27	182.29	113	CTH-E / CTH-J – Westfield
Waushara	Coloma	124.24	199.94	124	WIS 21 – Coloma, Necedah
	Town of Hancock	131.30	211.31	131	CTH-V – Hancock
	Town of Plainfield	136.85	220.24	136	WIS 73 – Plainfield, Wisconsin Rapids
Portage	Town of Pine Grove	140.02	225.34	139	CTH-D – Almond
		143.51	230.96	143	CTH-W – Bancroft, Wisconsin Rapids
	Town of Plover	150.85	242.77	151	WIS 54 / Bus. US 51 – Wisconsin Rapids, Plover, Waupaca
		153.45	246.95	153	CTH-B – Wisconsin Rapids, Plover, Amherst
		156.48	251.83	156	CTH-HH – Whiting
	Stevens Point	158.66	255.34	158	US 10 east – Stevens Point, Waupaca, Appleton, Marshfield	Signed as exits 158A (east) and 158B (west) northbound; south end of US 10 overlap
	Town of Hull	169.84	273.33	159	WIS 66 – Stevens Point, Rosholt
	Stevens Point	161.71	260.25	161	Bus. US 51 – Stevens Point
	Town of Hull	163.58	263.26	163	Casimir Road
		165.70	266.67	165	US 10 west – Marshfield	North end of US 10 overlap
	Town of Dewey	171.34	275.75	171	CTH-DB – Knowlton, Lake DuBay
Marathon	Town of Knowlton	175.79	282.91	175	WIS 34 – Knowlton, Wisconsin Rapids
	Mosinee	179.52	288.91	179	WIS 153 – Mosinee, Elderon
	Town of Kronenwetter	181.34	291.84	181	Maple Ridge Road
	Rothschild	185.47	298.49	185	Bus. US 51 – Rothschild, Wausau, Schofield
	Town of Rib Mountain	188.09	302.70	187	WIS 29 east – Weston, Green Bay I-39 south – Madison	Northern end of I-39 immediately before interchange
		189.03	304.21	188	CTH-N (Rib Mountain Drive)
		190.64	306.81	190	CTH-NN (North Mountain Road)
	Town of Stettin	191.95	308.91	191B	Sherman Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
	Wausau	192.49	309.78	191A	WIS 29 west – Abbotsford, Chippewa Falls	Northern end of WIS 29 concurrency; northbound ramp exits freeway south of Sherman Street
		192.60	309.96	192	WIS 52 (Stewart Avenue)
		193.40	311.25	193	Bridge Street
	Wausau–Town of Maine line	194.52– 194.73	313.05– 313.39	194	Bus. US 51 / CTH-U / CTH-K – Wausau	Northern terminus of Bus. US 51
	Town of Maine	196.43	316.12	197	CTH-WW – Brokaw
Lincoln	Town of Scott	205.19	330.22	205	CTH-Q – Merrill
	Town of Pine River	208.39– 208.43	335.37– 335.44	208	WIS 64 / WIS 17 – Merrill, Antigo
	Town of Bradley	211.13	339.78	211	CTH-K – Merrill
		214.96	345.94		Lincoln Drive	At-grade intersection
		220.36	354.64		CTH-K (Nelson Drive)	At-grade intersection
		221.39	356.29		CTH-J – Irma	At-grade intersection
		222.40	357.92		CTH-V	At-grade intersection
		223.49	359.67		Tamarack Lane	At-grade intersection
		225.99	363.70	225	CTH-S – Tomahawk
		229.86	369.92	229	WIS 86 / CTH-D – Tomahawk
		231.65	372.80	231	CTH-A – Tomahawk
	Town of King	234.22	376.94	234	US 8 – Prentice, Rhinelander
Oneida	Town of Nokomis	236.16	380.06	Northern end of freeway
	Town of Minocqua	260.71	419.57		WIS 70 west – Fifield	Southern end of WIS 70 concurrency
	Town of Woodruff	261.39	420.67		WIS 47 – Lac du Flambeau, Rhinelander
Vilas	Town of Arbor Vitae	263.09	423.40		WIS 70 east – Eagle River	Northern end of WIS 70 concurrency
Iron	Town of Mercer	288.96	465.04		WIS 47 south / WIS 182 west – Lac du Flambeau, Park Falls	Northern terminus of WIS 47; Eastern terminus of WIS 182
	Hurley	315.07	507.06		WIS 77 west (Silver Street)	Signed western terminus of WIS 11; Silver Street continues eastward as a state trunk highway to Bus. US 2 at the state line
	Town of Kimball	316.44– 316.59	509.26– 509.50	—	US 2 / LSCT – Ashland, Ironwood	Interchange
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

See also

• U.S. Roads portal
• Wisconsin portal

References

1. Wisconsin State Trunk Highway Logs:
   
   • Southwest Region Staff (December 31, 2008). State Trunk Highway Log for Southwest Region (XLS). Madison, WI: Wisconsin Department of Transportation. 051N.
   • North Central Region Staff (December 31, 2008). State Trunk Highway Log for North Central Region (XLS). Rhinelander, WI: Wisconsin Department of Transportation. 051N.
2. "Wisconsin Connections 2030: Wausau to Ironwood, Michigan" (PDF). Retrieved 19 March 2013.
3. Google (June 25, 2014). "Overview Map of U.S. Highway 51 in Wisconsin" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
4. Bessert, Christopher J. "Highways 50-59 (U.S. Highway 51)". Wisconsin Highways. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
5. "Special Roads". Wisconsin History Explorer. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2008-01-02.