State Trunk Highway 26 (often called Highway 26, STH-26, or WIS 26) 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 sove ...

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 ...

. The route is partially a divided highway with a few freeway bypass sections for roughly 50 miles. The remaining sections of WIS 26 is a two-lane road. WIS 26 provides direct access from Janesville to Oshkosh via Fort Atkinson, Watertown, and

Waupun Waupun is a city in Dodge and Fond du Lac counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 11,344 at the 2020 census. Of this, 7,795 were in Dodge County, and 3,549 were in Fond du Lac County. In Fond du Lac County, the Town of Waup ...

Route description

WIS 26 begins in downtown Janesville, Rock County at

US 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south-north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered High ...

(North Parker Drive), and follows East Centerway Street, to turn northeast on Milton Ave. WIS 26 crosses

US 14 U.S. Route 14 (abbreviated U.S. 14 or US 14), an east–west route, is one of the original United States highways of 1926. It currently has a length of 1,398 miles (2,250 km), but it had a peak length of 1,429 miles (2,300 km). For ...

and

I-39 Interstate 39 (I-39) is a highway in the Midwestern United States. I-39 runs from Normal, Illinois, at I-55 to State Trunk Highway 29 (WIS 29) in the town of Rib Mountain, Wisconsin, which is approximately south of Wausau. ...

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, an ...

on the northeast side of the city. WIS 26 is a divided highway with a few freeway bypass sections from Janesville to WIS 60 for about 50 miles. WIS 26 goes 5 miles north of the I-39/I-90 before bypassing Milton to the east.

WIS 59 State Trunk Highway 59 (often called Highway 59, STH-59 or WIS 59) is a state highway that runs east–west in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin from Milwaukee to Monroe. Route description The highway starts at WIS 11 i ...

crosses WIS 26 in Milton. WIS 26 crosses over to Jefferson County about five miles (8 km) north of Milton. The highway turns northeast at the county line and approaches Fort Atkinson, but turns northwestward prior to entering the city, and bypasses it to the west with 4 exits to serve Fort Atkinson. Direct access is provided to WIS 106 and

US 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 that ...

WIS 89 State Trunk Highway 89 (often called Highway 89, STH-89 or WIS 89) is a state highway in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It travels south to north from near Delavan to Columbus Columbus is a Latinized versi ...

crosses the route, but no direct access is provided. WIS 26 then continues north for 2 miles (6 km) to Jefferson, where WIS 26 bypasses the city to the west. It has 3 exits serving Jefferson including one at

US 18 U.S. Route 18 (US 18) is an east–west U.S. highway in the Midwestern United States. The western terminus is in Orin, Wyoming at an interchange with Interstate 25. Its eastern terminus is in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However, US 18 ru ...

. The highway passes through Johnson Creek at the interchange with I-94. About 4 miles north of I-94, WIS 26 bypasses Watertown to the west as the highway crosses into Dodge County. The bypass has 3 exits serving Watertown including at

WIS 19 State Trunk Highway 19 (often called Highway 19, STH-19 or WIS 19) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It provides a more direct route from U.S. Highway 14 near Mazomanie east to Highway 16 at Watertown, passing around the nort ...

and WIS 16. On the Dodge County side of Watertown, WIS 26 and WIS 16 run a concurrency for 8 miles (13 km) to near Clyman where WIS 16 exits at

WIS 60 State Trunk Highway 60, often called Highway 60, STH-60 or WIS 60, is a state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It runs east–west in southern Wisconsin from Prairie du Chien on the Mississippi River at the Iowa state line to th ...

. WIS 26 goes into

Juneau The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the s ...

then crosses

WIS 33 State Trunk Highway 33 (often called Highway 33, STH-33 or WIS 33) is a Wisconsin state highway running east–west across central Wisconsin. It is in length. Route description La Crosse to Baraboo WIS 33 begins east of the Mississ ...

three miles (5 km) north of Juneau. After eleven more miles, WIS 26 crosses US 151 and passes through Waupun. WIS 26 joins

US 151 U.S. Highway 151 (US 151) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of Iowa and Wisconsin. The southern terminus for US 151 is at a junction with Interstate 80 (I-80) in Iowa County, Iowa, and its northern ter ...

crosses into

Fond du Lac County Fond du Lac County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 104,154. Its county seat is Fond du Lac. The county was created in the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and later organized in 1844. Fond du La ...

at its junction with WIS 49 in Waupun. WIS 26 joins US 151 for one mile (1.6 km) then turns north off the US route. After ten miles (16 km), the highway crosses

WIS 23 State Trunk Highway 23 (often called Highway 23, STH-23 or WIS 23) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The route is signed as a north–south route from Shullsburg to Wisconsin Dells and as an east–west route from Wisconsin De ...

in Rosendale. The highway then angles northeastward over the remaining seven miles (11 km) before entering Winnebago County Four more miles into the county the route terminates at its interchange with

Interstate 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 metropolita ...

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, ...

on the far southwest side of Oshkosh, about two miles (3 km) south of the

Wittman Regional Airport Wittman Regional Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) south of the central business district of Oshkosh, a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. A large portion at the south en ...

, site of

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, ...

History

The original 1917 alignment of WIS 26 mostly followed the current alignment south of Juneau, but the segment north of Juneau was directed towards

Theresa Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; french: Thérèse) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or rea ...

. 1921 saw WIS 26 extended via Kewaskum and

Waldo Waldo may refer to: People * Waldo (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Waldo (surname), a list of people * Waldo (footballer) (1934-2019), full name Waldo Machado da Silva, Brazilian footballer Places Canada * Waldo, ...

to end at Sheboygan - via present-day Wisconsin Highway 28. In 1924, the route was realigned. From Juneau, it followed its present alignment to US 41 and into Oshkosh, then continued north from that point along present day

WIS 76 State Trunk Highway 76 (often called Highway 76, STH-76 or WIS 76) is a state highway 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 sta ...

up to Greenville, turning westward onto present-day WIS 15 there to continue to

New London New London may refer to: Places United States *New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut *New London, Indiana *New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland *New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England town ** ...

. From there, the route followed present-day US 45, passing through Clintonville,

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...

, Antigo and Eagle River. The route connected with then M-26. WIS 26 was also concurrent with WIS 10 south of Janesville. 1934 saw the debut of US 45, which replaced WIS 26 from Oshkosh northward. The route was truncated on the southern end to end at Janesville in the late 1940s. Four bypasses were constructed for WIS 26 - around Milton to the east in 2013-14, around Fort Atkinson to the west in the 1990s, around Jefferson to the west in the 2000s, and around Watertown to the west in 2012-14.

Major intersections

Special routes

Fort Atkinson business loop

Business WIS 26 in Fort Atkinson starts at WIS 26 Exit 17 and follows Janesville Ave., Robert St., Madison Ave., North 3rd St., and N. High St. before ending at WIS 26 Exit 23.

Jefferson business loop

Business WIS 26 in Jefferson starts at WIS 26 Exit 25 and follows the old routing of WIS 26 along Main St before ending at WIS 26 Exit 30.

Watertown business loop

Business WIS 26 in Watertown starts at WIS 26 Exit 39 and follows the old routing of WIS 26 along Church St. to Wisconsin 16. It then turns west with WIS 16 for a short distance before ending at WIS 26 Exit 45. Old WIS 26 north of WIS 16 is now County Hwy L.

References

External links

*{{commons category-inline, Wisconsin Highway 26 026 Transportation in Rock County, Wisconsin Transportation in Jefferson County, Wisconsin Transportation in Dodge County, Wisconsin Transportation in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin Transportation in Winnebago County, Wisconsin U.S. Route 45