I-94 segment observes 50th anniversary

Although the dedication covered the distance between Eau Claire and Hudson, part of the highway between Menomonie and Eau Claire was not totally completed for the event. The Oct. 29, 1959, edition of the Star-Observer said:

The 41 miles of four-lane highway between Hudson and Menomonie will be officially open for traffic at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29. The commission has set this hour to avoid any problems involving traffic and the units making up the cavalcade. The remaining mileage between Menomonie and Eau Claire is now partially completed and as rapidly as the weather permits, this section of the road will be completed and it will be opened for traffic sometime before the end of 1959.

The cavalcade included official cars carrying the governors, state officials, local officials, contractors, representatives from the U.S. Congress and Senate, county board representative and delegations from each community along the route. Also included were four special floats representing agriculture, industry, defense and recreation. Private vehicles were also invited to join the cavalcade.

I-94 from Hudson to Kenosha is Wisconsin’s longest interstate highway segment covering some 334 miles. Construction of I-94 began in 1958.

The first section of Interstate highway was completed in Wisconsin - a one-mile segment of I-94 near Johnson Creek in Jefferson County.

As construction progressed, miles were added for the next several years:

I-94 runs 1,585 miles from Detroit, Mich. to Billings, Mont. (in Billings it hooks into I-90). Today the I-94 segment between Hudson and Eau Claire carries 50,000 cars per day.

Interstate system

In 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower signed federal legislation that initiated development of what many consider our nation’s greatest public works achievement. The nation’s Interstate system began as a massive national defense project, but later evolved into a major economic development force that allowed people and commerce to flow efficiently throughout the country.

Today, the U.S. Interstate system stretches some 46,775 miles and serves a crucial economic role in supporting the safe and efficient movement of people and commerce.

Wisconsin has long served as a transportation leader - being the first state to establish a system of numbered state highways, one of the first states to complete construction of its primary interstate routes, and a national trend-setter when it comes to public involvement in building quality transportation facilities while minimizing environmental impacts.

About 75 percent of Wisconsin’s interstate system was built in the decade between 1959 and 1969. Wisconsin has some 743 miles of interstate that cost about $1.5 billion (federal funds covered about $1.3 billion) to build. While accounting for less than 1 percent of the state’s 113,700 miles of total roadway, Wisconsin’s interstate highways carry almost 18 percent of the state’s vehicle miles each year and are among the safest roads to travel.

In 2005, nearly 40 percent of Wisconsin’s industrial parks were located within five miles of an interstate.

Major interstate routes are designated by one- or two-digit numbers. East/west routes carry even numbers - north/south routes carry odd numbers.

Three-digit interstate highway numbers represent bypasses or spurs attached to a primary Interstate highway and carry the numbers of the adjacent “parent” Interstate (i.e., I-794 and I-894 in Milwaukee are bypasses of I-94)).

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