State Trunk Highway 120 (often called Highway 120, STH-120 or WIS 120) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. It runs in north–south in southeast Wisconsin from the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Border near

Lake Geneva , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial lak ...

to south of

East Troy East Troy is a village in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,687 at the 2020 census. The village is located southwest of the Town of East Troy. A small portion extends into the adjacent Town of Troy. Geography Eas ...

. It continues in

as State Route 47.

Route description

WIS 120 begins at the

state line as a continuation of IL 47. After of straight road, WIS 120 turns east, then curves north to bypass downtown

Lake Geneva , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial lak ...

. later, it meets

WIS 50 State Trunk Highway 50 (often called Highway 50, STH-50 or WIS 50) is a state highway in Walworth and Kenosha counties in Wisconsin, United States, that runs from Wisconsin Highway 11 (WIS 11) in Delavan east to Wisconsin Highway 32 (WIS& ...

for a short concurrency (picking up CTH-H along the way). After the less-than overlap, WIS 120 and CTH-H join

US Highway 12 U.S. Route 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) and I-94, but unlike most U.S. routes tha ...

as a freeway at Exit 330A, while WIS 50 heads east toward

Kenosha Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenosh ...

. WIS 120 and CTH-H exit the US 12 freeway at Exit 328. While CTH-H turns south toward downtown, WIS 120 turns north to meet the western terminus of

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 ...

and the White River State Trail in unincorporated

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

after of rural road. Continuing another , WIS 120 meets

WIS 11 State Trunk Highway 11 (often called Highway 11, STH-11 or WIS 11) is a state highway running east–west across southern Wisconsin. The highway connects Dubuque, Iowa with the cities of Janesville, Racine and Elkhorn. Most of the route i ...

in unincorporated Spring Prairie. WIS 120 then meets its northern terminus at

I-43 Interstate 43 (I-43) is a Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Wisconsin, connecting I-39/ I-90 in Beloit with Milwaukee and I-41, U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) and US 141 in Green Bay. State Trunk Highwa ...

almost later. The road continues as CTH-G/Church Street into Downtown

. WIS 120 starts as a rural two-lane highway. It becomes a four-lane divided road at the southern end of the overlap with CTH-H. It continues as such up to and including the WIS 50 overlap and the roughly section of freeway it shares with US 12 on the east side of Lake Geneva. Once it splits from US 12, it resumes as a two-lane road through its northern terminus at I-43.

Attractions

* Alpine Valley Resort, Golf Club and Theater * Hawks View Golf Club * Grand Geneva Resort (formerly the Playboy Club Resort of

Lake Geneva , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial lak ...

) * Hillmoor Country Club * Big Foot Beach State Park

History

WIS 120 started showing up on state maps as early as 1937, however it ended in WIS 50 in downtown Lake Geneva. Around 1987-1988, WIS 120 and CTH-H were routed around downtown using their present routes, WIS 50, and US 12. WIS 120 continued straight past the current turn-off via Pilgrim Church Road, Lake Shore Drive, Baker Street, Wrigley Drive, and Broad Street. Also, part of the present-day route was WIS 36 and CTH-G from Lake Geneva to East Troy, until WIS 36 was truncated to its present terminus in Springfield around the same time as WIS 120 was rerouted. As a result, WIS 120 superseded parts of WIS 36 to Lake Geneva and CTH-G to its present terminus at I-43 in East Troy. The route has remained unchanged to this day.

Major intersections

References

External links

*{{commons category-inline 120 Transportation in Walworth County, Wisconsin

Route description

Attractions

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links