State Trunk Highway 20 (often called Highway 20, STH-20 or WIS 20) is a 42.95-mile (69.12 km) state highway in Walworth and Racine counties in southeastern Wisconsin, United States. The route is a short connector that bridges the city of Whitewater and points west via U.S. Highway 12 (US 12) with East Troy, Waterford and Racine. WIS 20 is a two-lane surface road with various four-lane roads within cities.
 State Trunk Highway 20 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 WIS 20 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by WisDOT | ||||
| Length | 42.95 mi[1][2] (69.12 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |   US 12 / WIS 67 east of LaGrange | |||
| ||||
| East end |  WIS 32 in Racine | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Wisconsin | |||
| Counties | Walworth, Racine | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Route description
editWIS 20 begins at the junction of US 12 and WIS 67 and proceeds east, going south around a junction with County Trunk Highway J (CTH-J) 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) east of the terminus and bypassing the small community of Troy Center. WIS 20 connects with Interstate 43 (I-43) in East Troy, then meanders eastward into Racine County[3] WIS 20 provides indirect access to Alpine Valley Music Theater which is south of the village just off WIS 120[4] WIS 20 merges with WIS 83 east on the west side of Waterford and both highways turn southeast into the village. WIS 83 splits to the south at WIS 20's junction with WIS 36 in Rochester. From here, WIS 20 turns east again, where it becomes Washington Avenue. WIS 20 connects with WIS 75 and crosses US 45 in the town of Yorkville.
WIS 20 has an interchange with I-94 and US 41 in Ives Grove.[5] and enters Mount Pleasant upon crossing the Interstate, following Washington Avenue.[6] WIS 20 crosses WIS 31 while in Mount Pleasant, then enters converges with WIS 32 just southwest of downtown Racine. The two routes follow Washington Avenue northeast and turn east onto the one-way 7th Street. WIS 20 completes a loop to turn around onto westbound one-way 6th Street as WIS 32 turns north onto Main Street in downtown Racine. These intersections form the eastern terminus of WIS 20.[7]
History
editThe section between Rochester and Racine existed since the dawn of the Wisconsin highway system in 1917.[8] WIS 20 was routed southwest along WIS 36 to Burlington, then west from there along present day WIS 11, not including the Janesville or Monroe bypasses. The route also passed through Gratiot, Delavan, and Elkhorn.[9][10] The western terminus at the time was at the Illinois border at East Dubuque.[8] The route was scaled back to end at Rochester in 1934 when US 14 replaced WIS 11's original alignment. This was also done to avoid a possible conflict with U.S. Route 20 running parallel in Illinois.[11] The western segment from La Grange to Rochester was added in 1947.[1]
Major intersections
edit| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walworth | Town of La Grange | 0.00 | 0.00 | US 12 / WIS 67 – Eagle, Oconomowoc, Whitewater, Madison, Elkhorn, Lake Geneva | Western terminus; US 12 heads west and south from junction, WIS 67 heads north and west |
| Adams | 1.50 | 2.41 |   CTH-J east – Troy Center, Mukwonago | ||
| Town of Troy | 6.36 | 10.24 |   CTH-N north – Troy Center | ||
| East Troy | 9.39 | 15.11 |  I-43 – Mukwonago, Milwaukee, Elkhorn, Delavan, Beloit | ||
| 9.63 | 15.50 |  CTH-L – East Troy Municipal Airport | |||
| Racine | Waterford | 17.67 | 28.44 |  WIS 83 north – Mukwonago, Genesee Depot | Western end of WIS 83 concurrency |
| Town of Rochester | 19.77 | 31.82 |  WIS 36 north – Waterford, Milwaukee WIS 83 south – Rochester, Burlington | Eastern end of WIS 83 concurrency | |
| Beaumont | 25.17 | 40.51 |  CTH-S north (North Beaumont Avenue)  WIS 75 south – Kansasville, Paddock Lake | ||
| Dover–Yorkville town line | 27.25 | 43.85 |  US 45 north – Milwaukee | Western end of US 45 concurrency | |
| Town of Yorkville | 28.25 | 45.46 | US 45 south – Union Grove | Eastern end of US 45 concurrency | |
| Ives Grove | 32.74 | 52.69 |  CTH-C (Spring Street) – Mount Pleasant | ||
| Ives Grove–Mount Pleasant line | 33.44 | 53.82 |    I-41 / I-94 / US 41 – Milwaukee, Chicago | ||
| Mount Pleasant | 34.50 | 55.52 |  CTH-V – Caledonia | ||
| 39.00 | 62.76 |  WIS 31 – Caledonia, Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie | |||
| Racine | 42.95 | 69.12 |  WIS 32 / LMCT (Main Street) – Caledonia, Milwaukee, Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie | Eastern terminus; eastern end of WIS 20 runs concurrent with WIS 32 for just under a mile | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b Bessert, Chris. "Highways 20–29 (Highway 20)". Wisconsin Highways. Retrieved March 20, 2007.[self-published source]
- ^ "Overview Map of WIS 20" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ Walworth Co (PDF) (Map). Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 3, 2008.
- ^ "Alpine Valley Music Theater, East Troy, Wisconsin" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved January 3, 2008.
- ^ Racine Co (PDF) (Map). Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 3, 2008.
- ^ "Washington Ave, Racine, Wisconsin, United States" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved January 3, 2008.
- ^ "Racine, Wisconsin, United States" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved January 3, 2008.
- ^ a b Bulletin 9. Wisconsin Highway Commission. 1920. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
- ^ Bauer, Kurt W. (March 1969). "Map 5: Original State Trunk Highway System in Wisconsin 1918" (Map). A Jurisdictional Highway System Plan For Milwaukee County. Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. Retrieved January 10, 2008 – via Midwest Roads.
- ^ "Rand McNally Auto Road Atlas". Rand McNally. 1926. Retrieved December 31, 2007.
- ^ "Change Number Of Highway To Avoid Conflict". The Sheboygan Press. April 26, 1934.
External links
edit
- WIS 20 Terminus Photos at Wisconsin Highway Ends