US highway photos from Madison WI
It seems nature typically arranges itself in ways that hinder
man's penchant for developing cities in orderly geometric patterns. The isthmus
between lakes Monona and Mendota is a rare exception: it runs at almost exactly
a 45-degree angle. Madison is situated on this isthmus, and city planners incorporated
its angle into their aesthetic street layout. Washington Avenue forms an axis
running right down the center of the isthmus. This road is interrupted by Capitol
Square, which is on the high point of the isthmus... so for people driving on
Washington, the State Capitol always looms large on the horizon:
That's looking northeast on Washington, approaching Proudfit Street (where
US 151 traffic is directed off Washington). In addition to this road, other
streets were also surveyed such that they radiate outward from the Capitol in
45-degree increments, each of them having this central building as a focal point.
The result is a pleasing street pattern which is somewhat reminiscent of the
road network in our nation's capital city. Below we're looking the opposite
direction (southwest) on Washington, approaching Blair Street:
This is where southbound US 151 leaves Washington (traffic connects between
Blair and Proudfit via John Nolen Drive and North Shore Drive). 151 is the only
US route that is directed through downtown Madison. But it wasn't always that
way - US 151
originally ended about four miles northeast of the Capitol. US 12 and US
14 also came close to downtown, using Park Street and University Avenue. Later
Campus Drive was built as a bypass to the segment of University that runs west
of the UW campus. The photo below was taken heading west on University, and
it shows the signage at the split:
US 12-14 originally continued straight ahead on University. After the Beltline
Highway was built in the 1950s, University was designated "City US 12-14".
Perhaps that was still the case when Campus Drive was built in the 1970s(?).
If so, then that might account for the interesting signage posted there (below
is an enlargement):
Today neither of those roads are on the state highway system. Instead, the
Beltline carries US 12 along its entire length, and various segments also carry
US 14, US 18, and/or US 151. In fact, there's a three-mile stretch where all
four US routes converge and use the Beltline. In the photo below, we're looking
south on Park Street (or southbound US 151) at the Beltline's interchange 261:
Eastbound US 12 and US 18 are to the left on the Beltline, while straight ahead
is eastbound US 14. US 151 continues to the right (west) on the Beltline. As
you can see, if you take that right-hand on-ramp, you're on a US highway quad-plex
(US 12-14-18-151). That lasts until interchange 258 (where US 18 and US 151
traffic is directed to exit at Verona Road). I think it's for this reason (up
to four different routes using the Beltline) that signs like the one below are
used in Madison:
That's heading southwest on Washington at Bassett Street. When I first saw
one of those signs, my initial thought was that the numbers must have faded
or fallen off the US route shield. But these are fairly new signs, and I observed
several in town. I guess - rather than trying to fit all four numbers into the
shield - they must figure the empty shield is enough to signify that's how you
get to any US route that you might be looking for. And - as long as you're not
looking for US 51 - I guess that's a pretty safe assumption, although this is
an unusual solution.
(All photos by me, Oct. 2006. Jon
Enslin helped with research.)
Page created 23 October 2006; last updated 19 December 2006.
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