| World War I Veterans Memorial Highway | ||||
WIS 29; mainline in red, business routes in blue | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byWisDOT | ||||
| Length | 307.35 mi[1] (494.63 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end | ||||
| Major intersections | ||||
| East end | ||||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Wisconsin | |||
| Counties | Pierce,St. Croix,Dunn,Chippewa,Clark,Marathon,Shawano,Brown,Kewaunee | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
State Trunk Highway 29 (often calledHighway 29,STH-29 orWIS 29) is astate highway running east–west across centralWisconsin. It is a major east–west corridor connecting theTwin Cities and theChippewa Valley withWausau andGreen Bay. A multi-year project to convert the corridor to a four-lanefreeway orexpressway fromElk Mound to Green Bay was completed in 2005. The remainder of WIS 29 is two-lane surface road or an urban multi-lane road.
WIS 29 begins at its western terminus atU.S. Highway 10 (US 10), on the north side ofPrescott. From this point, WIS 29 is concurrent withWIS 35 northeast ofRiver Falls, passing theUniversity of Wisconsin–River Falls campus. At the junction withWIS 65, WIS 35 turns northbound with WIS 65 while WIS 29 continues east. WIS 29 joins briefly withUS 63 west ofSpring Valley[2] and turns eastbound upon its split one mile (1.6 km) south to head into Spring Valley.[3] Upon leaving Spring Valley andPierce County, Wisconsin, the highway heads northwardward intoSt. Croix County and turns east towardsMenomonie. WIS 29 does not pass through any municipalities while in this county, but it does crossWIS 128.[4]
Upon enteringDunn County, the route passes through rural terrain and enters Menomonie's west side as Hudson Road. The highway turns northward onto Main Street and passes west and north of theUniversity of Wisconsin–Stout campus. WIS 29 turns east onto Stout Road along withUS 12 and leaves the city to the east.[5] US 12/WIS 29 proceeds east for about nine miles (14 km) and junctions withInterstate 94 (I-94). This interchange is the westernmost point of the multi-lane WIS 29 corridor.[6] It is also the westernmost point of WIS 29 as a backbone route in Corridors 2020.[7]
West of County Highway T (CTH-T), the highway is anexpressway. It passes into theChippewa Valley metropolitan area and south ofChippewa Falls as afreeway and crossesUS 53 at a cloverleaf interchange inLake Hallie.[8] WIS 29 junctions with the southern terminus ofWIS 178 southeast of Chippewa Falls then passes to the south ofLake Wissota State Park before crossing underWIS 27 inCadott. WIS 29 passes south ofBoyd andStanley before exiting the county to the east.[8]
InClark County, WIS 29 meetsWIS 73 inThorp. The two highwaysrun concurrently and exit the village to the east, and WIS 73 splits to the south inWithee about 10 miles (16 km) east. WIS 29 continues east and passes south ofOwen andCurtiss. AtAbbotsford, WIS 29 andWIS 13 meet at a partial cloverleaf interchange between Abbotsford andColby on the Clark–Marathon county line.[8] Twelve miles (19 km) east of Abbotsford, WIS 29 andWIS 97 meet at a diamond interchange. This is a key route for travelers between Wausau andMarshfield. East of this junction, WIS 29 follows a straight course that passesEdgar and meetsWIS 107 at a diamond interchange on the north side ofMarathon City, approximately eight miles (13 km) west of Wausau. WIS 29 enters Wausau as a freeway, junctions with Stewart Avenue approximately1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) west ofUS 51 at an eastbound off/westbound on style half-interchange. WIS 29 then immediately enters the US 51 interchange, and turns south onto and follows US 51 for five miles (8.0 km), bypassing the downtown area to the south.[9]

South of Wausau, WIS 29 turns off US 51 to the east at the northern terminus ofI-39 and continues as freeway, passing through the villages ofRothschild andWeston. The freeway section ends atRingle. As an expressway, the highway passes just south ofHatley and turns southeast for about four miles (6 km) before turning east again at the northern terminus ofWIS 49.[9]
The highway entersShawano County about one mile (1.6 km) east of this junction.[9] WIS 29 passes north and aroundWittenberg.US 45 joins with the highway north of Wittenberg and the two routes run concurrently to where US 45 splits to the south at about two miles (3.2 km) east of the village. WIS 29 bypassesTilleda andThornton on the way towardsShawano. At Shawano, the expressway becomes a freeway at the junction with CTH-MMM (WIS 29 Business) and turns southeast to bypass Shawano to the south, diamond interchanges link the highway withWIS 22 andWIS 47 north/WIS 55 north as it pass south of the city. WIS 47 south and WIS 55 south follow WIS 29 east. WIS 47 splits to the south at the diamond interchange junction withWIS 117 south ofBonduel. WIS 29 (along with WIS 55) then returns to an expressway at the junction with CTH-BE (WIS 29's former route). WIS 55 splits to the south at the diamond interchange junction withWIS 160 atAngelica and WIS 29 heads southeast to theBrown County line.[10]

About one mile (1.6 km) into Brown County, WIS 29 collectsWIS 32 eastbound at the diamond interchange withWIS 156 and CTH-Y. WIS 29 very briefly passes through the northeast corner ofOutagamie County and enters the village ofHoward. The multilane expressway and the Backbone Corridor route end atInterstate 41/US 41.[7][11] WIS 32 turns south onto I-41/US 41 as WIS 29 continues intoGreen Bay as Shawano Avenue.[12]

In downtown Green Bay, WIS 29 turns north onto South Monroe Avenue for four blocks, joining withWIS 54 and turns east onto Main Street, splitting from WIS 54 and joiningUS 141 to leave the city to the southeast. The highways pass overI-43 without an interchange. WIS 29 splits to the east from US 141 at about one mile (1.6 km) north of US 's southern terminus at I-43 inBellevue. This provides the only access from I-43 to WIS 29. The highway passes throughPoland andHenrysville as it exits Brown County to the east.[11] InKewaunee County, WIS 29 passes due east throughPilsen and north ofKrok as a two-lane road. The highway ends in downtownKewaunee atWIS 42 on the shores ofLake Michigan.[13]
Prior to 1926, WIS 29 was numbered WIS 116 from Minnesota to Chippewa Falls, WIS 16 from Chippewa Falls toBellevue, and WIS 146 from Bellevue to Kewaunee. WIS 16 continued southeast from Bellevue along what becameUS 141 in 1926 toManitowoc. What had been WIS 29 before 1926 becameUS 16 across the state.[14]
WIS 29 has long been known as "Bloody 29" because of the prevalence of grisly fatal traffic crashes along significant portions of the highway.[15] In 1988, a study was commissioned to examine widening the highway to a four-lanedivided highway. The changes would be made along 203 miles (327 km) of road from I-94, 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Elk Mound, to US 41 inHoward (suburbanGreen Bay). The final segment of the highway, connecting the east side of Chippewa Falls with the segment running north ofEau Claire, was opened to traffic on August 16, 2005. Of the total length, about 65 miles (105 km) of the highway meetsInterstate Highway standards.[16] Most of the expansion was completed with only minor additions to the already-existing easements, and as a result, the expanded roadway almost exactly matches the highway's original course.
The portion of WIS 29 between Chippewa Falls and Abbotsford roughly follows what used to be theYellowstone Trail.[17][18]
Before 2025 WIS 29 had a junction with WIS 52 on Stewart Avenue, however WIS 52 now runs on Bridge Street avoiding WIS 29.[19]
Long range plans call for WIS 29 to be converted to a full freeway between I-94 in Elk Mound and I-41 in Green Bay, however, there is no timetable for the entire corridor to be completed.[20]
This sectionis missing mileposts for junctions. Please helpadd them. |
| County | Location | mi | km | Exit[21] | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pierce | Prescott | 0.00 | 0.00 | Western end of WIS 35 and Alternate I-94 concurency | ||
| River Falls | 12.75 | 20.52 | Eastern end of WIS 35 concurrency | |||
| Martell | 24.37 | 39.22 | ||||
| St. Croix | Spring Valley | 35.45 | 57.05 | |||
| Dunn | Menomonie | 50.02 | 80.50 | Western end of US 12 concurrency | ||
| Elk Mound | 59.97 | 96.51 | 60 | Western end of four-lane expressway; signed as exits 60A and 60B | ||
| 60.86 | 97.94 | 61 | Eastern end of US 12 concurrency | |||
| Chippewa | Chippewa Falls | 69.55 | 111.93 | 69 | ||
| 72.50 | 116.68 | 72 | ||||
| 75.95 | 122.23 | 75 | Signed as exits 75A (US 53 south) and 75B (US 53 north), Eastern end of Alternate I-94 concurrency | |||
| 79.50 | 127.94 | 79 | ||||
| Lake Wissota | 80.87 | 130.15 | 80 | Westbound entrance and eastbound exit only | ||
| 81.58 | 131.29 | 81 | ||||
| 87.67 | 141.09 | 87 | Eastbound signage omits Lake Wissota State Park | |||
| Cadott | 91.14 | 146.68 | 91 | |||
| Boyd | 96.97 | 156.06 | 97 | |||
| Stanley | 101.72 | 163.70 | 101 | |||
| Clark | Thorp | 108.45 | 174.53 | 108 | ||
| Withee | 118.49 | 190.69 | 118 | |||
| Owen | 121.52 | 195.57 | 122 | |||
| Curtiss | 126.76 | 204.00 | 127 | |||
| Abbotsford | 131.20 | 211.15 | 131 | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance only | ||
| Marathon | 132.91 | 213.90 | 132 | |||
| 134.62 | 216.65 | 134 | Eastbound entrance and westbound exit only | |||
| 138.11 | 222.27 | At-grade intersection | ||||
| Wien | 144.95 | 233.27 | 145 | |||
| 147.61 | 237.56 | At-grade intersection | ||||
| Edgar | 150.36 | 241.98 | 150 | |||
| 153.45 | 246.95 | At-grade intersection | ||||
| Marathon City | 156.20 | 251.38 | 156 | |||
| Wausau | 159.10 | 256.05 | 159 | |||
| 162.04 | 260.78 | 162 | 72nd Avenue | |||
| 164.35 | 264.50 | 164 | Stewart Avenue | Northern end of US 51 concurrency; signed as exits 164A (Stewart Avenue) and 164B (US 51 north); signed as exit 192 on US 51; concurrency follows US 51's exit numbers | ||
| 165.26 | 265.96 | 191 | Sherman Street | Northbound exit and southbound entrance only | ||
| Village of Rib Mountain | 166.32 | 267.67 | 190 | |||
| 167.98 | 270.34 | 188 | ||||
| 168.86 | 271.75 | 170 | Southern end of US 51 concurrency; northern terminus of I-39; exit 187 on I-39/US 51 | |||
| Rothschild | 170.65 | 274.63 | 171 | |||
| Weston | 172.51 | 277.63 | 173 | |||
| 176.13 | 283.45 | 177 | ||||
| Ringle | 179.87 | 289.47 | 181 | |||
| Hatley | 184.05 | 296.20 | 185 | |||
| Elderon | 190.68 | 306.87 | At-grade intersection | |||
| Shawano | Wittenberg | 194.56 | 313.11 | 195 | Western end of US 45 concurrency | |
| 195.74 | 315.01 | 196 | Eastbound entrance and westbound exit only | |||
| 197.15 | 317.28 | 198 | Easter end of US 45 concurrency; eastbound signage omits Bus. WIS 29, County Q, and Wittenberg | |||
| 202.83 | 326.42 | At-grade intersection | ||||
| Tilleda | 208.23 | 335.11 | At-grade intersection | |||
| 208.74 | 335.93 | At-grade intersection | ||||
| 209.91 | 337.82 | At-grade intersection | ||||
| Thornton | 214.91 | 345.86 | At-grade intersection | |||
| 220.59 | 355.01 | At-grade intersection | ||||
| Shawano | 225.02 | 362.13 | 225 | |||
| 227.01 | 365.34 | 227 | Western end of WIS 47/WIS 55 concurrency | |||
| Bonduel | 233.73 | 376.15 | 234 | Eastern end of WIS 47 concurrency | ||
| 236.50 | 380.61 | At-grade intersection; formerly WIS 29 | ||||
| Angelica | 238.57 | 383.94 | At-grade intersection | |||
| 241.76 | 389.08 | 242 | Eastern end of WIS 55 concurrency | |||
| Brown | Oneida | 249.05 | 400.81 | 249 | Northwestern end of WIS 32 concurrency | |
| Green Bay | 252.44 | 406.26 | 253 | Former at-gradeJ-turn (superstreet) intersection; roundabout interchange opened in August 2022 | ||
| 254.23 | 409.14 | 255 | ||||
| 256.82 | 413.31 | Eastbound exit, westbound entrance | ||||
| 257.43 | 414.29 | Southwestern end of WIS 32 concurrency; exit 169 on US 41; eastern end of WIS 32 expressway | ||||
| 261.66 | 421.10 | Western end of US 141 concurrency | ||||
| Bellevue | 268.58 | 432.24 | Eastern end of US 141 concurrency | |||
| Poland | 273.38 | 439.96 | ||||
| Henrysville | 275.38 | 443.18 | ||||
| Kewaunee | Pilsen | 277.36 | 446.37 | |||
| Stangelville | FormerWIS 163 | |||||
| Kewaunee | 289.75 | 466.31 | Eastern terminus | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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WIS 29 has fourbusiness routes: