Interchange Project Near Trego Designed To Improve Traffic Safety In North

State transportation officials said that they’re worried about the number of deaths and injuries at intersections on a stretch of highway in Washburn County.

Intersections at U.S. Highway 63 and County Highway E in Trego will be closed. Tom Beekman, of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, said an interchange will be built in its place to improve safety. Beekman said those segments of Highway 53 rank in the top 5 percent of the state’s worst intersections.

“When you get a four-lane divided highway and the traffic on the four-lane gets close to 10,000 cars a day and you start to get 1,000 cars a day using the side road coming up to the stop sign to cross or get onto that four-lane, your crash rate goes up exponentially,” he said.

Around 8,000 cars use Highway 53 each day near Trego with another 4,000 to 6,000 driving daily on U.S. Highway 63. Beekman said they began taking public comment on final design plans last month.

Construction might cost around $20 million and is slated to begin in five years.