About 15 years ago, MadeinUSA. Someone mentioned it earlier, just not directly to you.

svrwthr and MadeInUSA, the roadbed is NOT BEING TORN UP AND REPLACED. They will simply be adding improvements such as interchanges to make it a limited access highway. The project scope states:
"Segment 1 consists of spot improvements from just south of the County Y intersection north to Town Line Road. The existing 4-lane divided roadway will remain. Private driveway accesses onto WIS 26 will be relocated to either existing side roads, new frontage roads or new development streets."
http://www.dot.state.wi.us/projects/wis2...
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The ca. 2001 four-lane expansion between Janesville and Milton was actually one of the first phases in the entire project of upgrading the corridor and was done with this future work in mind. It was done at the time because the two-lane segment had extremely high traffic volumes and a high rate of fatal accidents.

partarican1 - do you own the property or rent? Chances are, if you rent, notification was sent to the owner of the property.

Oh no dont upset the jehovah!!!! who cares

partarican1...A guy I work with lives on the edge of Rock and Jefferson County on a rode that was slated to be blocked off from the new interchange on hwy 26. He went to meetings and did his homework and the State followed the plan he had divised. After hearing different bits of it for the past year or two I came to appreciate that he got results by never backing down and never leading with emotion. If you send me an email I will give it to him and I am certain he would give you a call with information that may help you also. He is not an internet guy at all and am sure he will not be posting here.

I hope they'll reduce the speed limit on Harmony Townhall Road with the new overpass/interchange...

I live right in the construction zone, and would have liked to have been notified about the informational meeting held last Tuesday...before the fact....

saxcat70 is correct. They are going to tear up a perfectly fine road (beautiful imho) and repave it. Most likely with black top that will fall apart every 5 years. I also can't wait to see where they divert the traffic for the bypass. Probably through one of the three wasteful turnabouts that head off toward Whitewater on 59. Those things are a joke. Take the old highway and you beat anyone taking those turnabouts. Wouldn't it be awesome if they dumped three or four of these down hwy 26? Gonna tick thousands of drivers off.

orange and rocket21 say it's no big deal but they are not the ones losing 100 acres for the Townhall exit or losing 50% of the customer base to your business. Yes, some people have a right to complain because they are losing much more than you!

Everyday, coming up to Harmony Town Hall Road, at least 3/4 cars do not stop at the stop sign because they are too self important to take a moment to judge if they actually have time to go. I laugh at the excuse that this will "make it safer" because in actuality we end up dealing with the same unsafe drivers, just creating new opportunities in which they will continue to put lives at risk. At least we came to anticipate those glorious drivers going right through that stop sign...

orange, I'm beginning to wonder if the Janesville Public Schools have an honors course in bitching and moaning that I somehow missed. We seem to have quite a few graduates. Obviously nobody complaining now took the time to attend the public hearings or submit comments at the time of planning this.
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Yeah, definitely in some ways this is making 26 into a freeway -- that's the state's goal -- and that's going to be harder for local people who used to have a driveway to a two-lane highway not that long ago. My own preference would have been a new alignment for the final segment that directly interchanged with I-39/90, maybe around the Town Line or N area, and that opened up a northerly gateway for Janesville. Obviously that would have taken up farmland and so forth itself, though, so it would have its own opponents.
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rocket21 and MadeinUSA, please be aware that the reconstructed highway -- at least along here -- is going to be pretty much used as is. They aren't digging it up and "redoing" it, they are adding bridges, ramps, and frontage roads. At the time of the dual carriageway upgrade the state was already contemplating this project and so that actually dovetailed with their plans.
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SwissChick, again, the state's goal is a freeway route for commercial trucking to connect up to I-39/90. If they don't make it a freeway now, it will only continue to be built up and become more dangerous with all of the crossing and entering/exiting traffic. The city's goal is to preserve access to the residential areas on either side. Indeed, I think they had to fight some battles to preserve any access between the Town Hall interchange and Kettering, because again the state was originally hoping to connect a freeway to a freeway.
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The fate of the individual intersections -- i.e. interchange, bridge, cul-de-sac, and so on -- was all part of the planning process several years ago. The city really wanted Wright Road to have a connection and the state pretty much said there needed to be only one interchange here and Town Hall was selected for ease of access from both directions.
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As for the Jehovah's Witnesses, eventually Bingham will connect to the extended Wright Road, but there are no current plans to build that portion as it remains undeveloped private land. The city's comprehensive plan and other documents show this and I hope that the Witnesses were made aware of the situation when they built.
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See, this doesn't happen in secret. There are public information sessions and hearings and comment periods. As citizens you can take advantage of those, or you can ignore them and wait for construction to start and complain when the Gazette runs an article. It's up to you.

I see Bingham road will end in a cul de sac. I wonder if anyone thought of the traffic to and from the Kingdom Hall of Jehovahs Witnesses there. I know they have quite a bit of traffic there all week long..esp on Sundays. Nearby residences may not appreciate all those cars traveling along their roads.

As a side note that I forgot before...this is an excellent visual aid by Tony DiNicola, and I printed it off to keep around just so I can remember what's happening over time. He does nice work.

Glad I don't have to do this drive. It was a pain for 2 years in Jefferson. 2 lanes are needed in each direction I think. It will be nice when it is all done.

I drive it almost every day to get to work in Fort. Is it an annoyance right now because of the other drivers? Yes, but it is for a only a few short distances between the groups of barrels. Will it be worse when the heavier equipment comes in? Yes, but I will live with it and adjust accordingly. No matter how well or not well it was thought out, somethings change for the worse after it has been fixed or replaced. That is life, so shut up and live with it, there are more things to worry about then this!!!

I definitely agree with saxcat70. I can understand the work regarding the bypass around Milton, but what is wrong with the portion from Janesville to where the actual bypass starts? Just wondering. Sees like a waste.

First I'd like to say I work on these projects. Based on My time spent out on this project it is needed badly. While it is unfortunate it didn't get done this way 15 yrs ago. The time is here & when it's done everyone will like it. The present roadway 26 will remain. again it's only 15 years old & in very good shape. I'm betting most people complaining on this forum rarely use 26 & have never tried to turn out of a driveway our crossroad to get on or across Hwy 26. All we ask is please follow the speed limits & take the time to actually read the posted signs. Remember your GPS is only a guide. Fines also double in work zones.

Stubby, no one is saying homeowners should or would be surprised, but what about the ones who built out there before this was dreamed up? They are going to live the inconvenience every day for the remainder of the time they live there...and who knows how it will affect already-slammed property values. I know I would not be thrilled.

I'm not sure why anybody is surprised about this. The state announced years ago that the Highway 26 corridor was a primary route for businesses and traffic between Janesville and the Fox Valley. Bypasses are already in place around Jefferson and Fort Atkinson. Watertown will have its bypass done later this year. That means travel to Oshkosh on 26 will have stops only in Johnson Creek and Rosendale - or just Johnson Creek if you take 151 from Waupun to Fon du Lac. The key to the development of this corridor is the ability of traffic to move freely - on a limited-access highway. Funny how everyone likes to drive on these types of roads, but hates them in their back yard. But, in the end, this is a plan that has been out there for almost 10 years, so business should not be at all surprised by the changes, nor should homeowners. If they are, then shame on them for not paying attention.

OMG you guys bitch and moan about every little thing. Take a Prozac for gosh sakes, it's not the end of the world.

yes janesvillean, i've been well aware of the plans. I drive the stretch every day to milton. huge waste of funds. I'm all for fixing what needs it, and expanding what needs it. But why make a bypass to go around something, AND limit the access for the local folks. Cut off the lifeline so that wal-mart can build another store.

"LIMITED ACCESS" Limited access to businesses like Sal's Landscaping and the gas station/McDonalds near Milton that depends on hwy 26 access. Limited access to peoples driveways that are on hwy 26. Limited access for people to travel in this area because roads like Town Line, Bingham, Klug, and Bowers Lake have no access to hwy 26. Will people in Milton stay and shop in Milton because it will be much more difficult to travel to Janesville?(and vise versa) Limited access means it BYPASSES driveways, businesses, towns, and people.

So basically if you live in Milton and want to get to Janesville you'll have to go through Edgerton first.

What a waste of money!

"What needs improvement is the skill and courtesy expectations of those behind the wheel."

Couldn't agree more saxcat70.

I believe Gov. Thompson was the king of highway construction during his day. Never realized he was so concerned about all those union construction jobs. What a sweetheart.

They just built this road....wow. No work like rework.... got to keep them union construction workers doing something. Never plan twice and build once, we whip it together so we can re do it again in a couple years because we failed to plan it right the first time. Glad my tax dollars are hard at work..

saxcat70, the state has planned to upgrade he entire 26 corridor for years now and if you are aware of the extent of work in Jefferson County it has been headed this way. The state actually wanted to turn the entire Milton-Janesville segment into a freeway with limited access, but the city insisted on keeping this developed area accessible. As far as I know the actual roadbed here is not being changed much, as those renovations were done with this future in mind. Basically, they want to prevent future development from turning it into Milton Avenue all the way to Milton.

Fun driving for me for the next couple of years!

Basically, they are tearing up a perfectly good road. Making it less useable. because a few folks decided to leap before they looked. I know that sounds cold, but this stretch of road is not that old and needs no improvement. What needs improvement is the skill and courtesy expectations of those behind the wheel.