U.S. Highway 45 (US 45) runs north–south through the eastern and northern portions of the state of
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. Also called Highway 45, it runs from the state line with
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
near the
village of Bristol in
Kenosha County to the
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
state line at the
town of Land O' Lakes in
Vilas County, a total of about .
Route description
US 45 enters from
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
at
Pikeville and is a two-lane road up to its junction with
WIS 36
State Trunk Highway 36 (often called Highway 36, STH-36 or WIS 36) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It runs in a diagonal southwest–northeast direction across southeastern Wisconsin from Springfield which is north of Lake ...
southwest of
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
. It runs concurrent with WIS 36 to its junction with
WIS 100
State Trunk Highway 100 (STH-100, commonly known as Highway 100 or WIS 100) is a road which encircles the outer edges of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States.
Route description
The road is designed as a bypass around the city of Milwau ...
. As it follows WIS 100 north, it becomes an urban multilane road. It merges onto
I-43 north in
Greenfield then follows
I-894,
I-41
Interstate 41 (I-41) is a north–south Interstate Highway connecting the interchange of I-94 and U.S. Route 41 (US 41), located south of the Wisconsin–Illinois border at the end of the Tri-State Tollway in metropolitan C ...
, and
US 41
U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, ...
north from the Hale Interchange one mile (1.6 km) to the east. After I-894 ends at
I-94, US 45 continues as a freeway north into
Wauwatosa
Wauwatosa (; known informally as Tosa; originally Wau-wau-too-sa or Hart's Mill) is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 48,387 at the 2020 census. Wauwatosa is located immediately west of Milwaukee, and is a pa ...
following I-41 and US 41 north of the Zoo Interchange. The two routes split further north with US 45 continuing to
West Bend. The freeway section of US 45 ends north of West Bend and continues into
Kewaskum as a four-lane highway. North of Kewaskum, it passes through Waucousta and
Eden as it approaches
Fond du Lac
US 45 reaches a point just south of Fond du Lac, where it joins
US 151 and, in a brief
wrong-way concurrency
A concurrency in a road network is an instance of one physical roadway bearing two or more different route numbers. When two roadways share the same right-of-way, it is sometimes called a common section or commons. Other terminology for a concurr ...
, jogs to the west, where it joins
I-41
Interstate 41 (I-41) is a north–south Interstate Highway connecting the interchange of I-94 and U.S. Route 41 (US 41), located south of the Wisconsin–Illinois border at the end of the Tri-State Tollway in metropolitan C ...
. It then follows I-41 north around Fond du Lac to the junction with
WIS 23, and jogs back east, into the center of Fond du Lac, where it then turns north, and follows the shore of
Lake Winnebago
Lake Winnebago ( mez, Wenepekōw Nepēhsæh, oj, Wiinibiigoo-zaaga'igan, one, kanyataláheleˀ) is a shallow freshwater lake in the north central United States, located in east central Wisconsin. At 137,700 acres it is the largest lake entire ...
as a two-lane road, to
Oshkosh. It runs through Oshkosh as Main Street, then turns onto Algoma Boulevard, which it follows out of Oshkosh. As it crosses I-41 it becomes a freeway facility to US 10 in
Winchester. After briefly joining US 10, US 45 takes a northward track as a two-lane rural road and heads into North Central Wisconsin with the exception of a four-lane expressway between
Clintonville and
Marion Marion may refer to:
People
*Marion (given name)
*Marion (surname)
*Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion"
*Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
Places Antarctica
* Mario ...
. The route serves as the central street for
Antigo and
Eagle River and passes into various state and national forest land. The route leaves the state at
Land O' Lakes.
Major intersections
See also
*
References
External links
US 45 at Wisconsin Highways
{{state detail page browse, type=US, route=45, state=Wisconsin, statebefore=Illinois, stateafter=Michigan
Wisconsin
45
Freeways in the Milwaukee area
Transportation in Kenosha County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Racine County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Waukesha County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Washington County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Winnebago County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Waupaca County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Outagamie County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Shawano County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Langlade County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Oneida County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Vilas County, Wisconsin