Madison Beltline Study - Beltline information

The Beltline was originally constructed in the 1950s as a two-lane rural highway bypassing downtown Madison. Since then, it has been steadily evolving and improving to meet growing local and regional transportation needs.
As a principal arterial highway that is fed by nearly every other major route in southwest Wisconsin, as well as numerous major local and county roads, the Beltline is used by a significant portion of local and regional travelers in the Madison urban area.
The Beltline is also a primary long truck route, and the portion from Verona Road to I-39/90 is part of the Wisconsin Backbone System.
The Beltline links southwest Wisconsin to the nation, and provides an important connection between neighborhoods, businesses, communities, and regions.
Madison and surrounding community residents use the Beltline daily to travel to jobs, school, retail, businesses and home.

Today, the Beltline is a multi-lane urban freeway passing through neighborhoods, natural areas and business districts.
Numerous sections of the Beltline have crash rates higher than the state average for similar urban highways in Wisconsin.
According to Wisconsin's Department of Administration, Dane County is on pace to add about 120,000 residents between 2010 and 2040; there is no capacity remaining on the Beltline to serve this growth.
The Beltline can be difficult for bicycles and pedestrians to cross, creating a barrier for alternative transportation.
Frequent congestion occurs, resulting in unreliable travel times.