WIS 20/WIS 75 Roundabout

WIS 20 is the primary east-west route in Racine County. It was a rural two-lane highway. County S (the north leg) and WIS 75 (the south leg) are rural two-lane highways and were stop-controlled at WIS 20. This intersection experienced an excessive number of crashes including one fatality. The four-year crash rate was 1.6 crashes per million entering vehicles, with more than 70% of the crashes involving injuries. This crash rate was significantly above the state average. The angle-type and rear-end crashes represented the majority of the crashes at this intersection, which resulted from northbound and southbound vehicles failing to yield to traffic on WIS 20. Prior to this improvement, a flashing LED was installed on the northbound stop sign with little success.

The two-way stop-controlled intersection was reconstructed into a modern single-lane roundabout to reduce the number and severity of crashes. The central island has a modified concrete truck apron to accommodate oversized, overweight (OSOW) vehicles. Fitting this much-needed roundabout between a business in the southeast quadrant, a park in the northeast quadrant, and an emergency communications tower in the northwest quadrant tested the design team’s creativity. The proposed design included facilities to accommodate on-road and off-road bicyclists as well as pedestrians.