West Waukesha Bypass Study

West Waukesha Bypass Study

In February 2010 Waukesha County began a detailed study of the West Waukesha Bypass between Interstate 94 and WIS 59 on the west side of the City of Waukesha. Transportation improvements are being studied to address growing local and regional traffic volumes and to enhance traffic flow and safety.

The West Waukesha Bypass has been in county and regional transportation plans for decades. In April 2009, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Waukesha County, the City of Waukesha, the Town of Waukesha, and WisDOT, identifying the local, county, and state responsibilities for studying and possibly building the West Waukesha Bypass.

The route of the proposed bypass is shown here (998 kb PDF).

Next Steps

Waukesha County completed the West Waukesha Bypass study in January 2015. The Record of Decision was approved on January 20, 2015. The document is available on the Environmental and Technical Reports page and at the Waukesha County DPW office. The Record of Decision is the Federal Highway Administration’s final approval of the project. It represents the end of the study phase of the project. The City of Waukesha, Waukesha County, and WisDOT are now in the final design phase for the entire project. There are three separate construction project contracts associated with the Waukesha Bypass project. and the City of Waukesha, Waukesha County, and WisDOT are each responsible for a separate segment of the roadway. The City will design and construct the segment from Rolling Ridge Drive to Northview Road. The County will design and construct the segment from Northview Road to USH 18/Summit Avenue. WisDOT will design and construct the segment from USH 18/Summit Avenue to WIS 59.

Schedule

The design will continue into mid-2018 and utility relocation work will continue through 2018. Construction of the bypass will begin north of Summit Avenue beginning late spring of 2017 and south of Summit Avenue during late 2018. Construction will continue into 2019. Real estate acquisition began in 2015 throughout the project corridor.