Construction on most major highway projects in Wisconsin will be suspended for the Fourth of July weekend to accommodate heavy holiday traffic. However, motorists may still encounter narrow lanes and lane shifts, which require reduced speeds in work zones, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT).

“Most construction and planned repairs in work zones will cease by around noon on Friday, July 3, and will resume on Monday, July 6. Peak travel times are expected to be between approximately noon and 8 p.m. on Friday and Sunday,” says Don Greuel of the WisDOT Project Services Section. “Traffic will be heavy throughout the holiday period, so driving through work zones will require patience and caution. To prevent crashes, drivers need to slow down, pay attention and not follow other vehicles too closely when approaching and traveling through work zones. Rear-end collisions caused primarily by speeding, distracted driving and tailgating are the most frequent type of crash in work zones.”

Last year, one person died in a traffic crash in Wisconsin during the Fourth of July holiday period, which ran from Thursday, July 3, through Sunday, July 6.

“To help prevent needless deaths and injuries from  traffic crashes, the Wisconsin State Patrol and other law enforcement agencies will be out in force during the holiday weekend to crackdown on speeding, tailgating, distracted driving, unbuckled drivers and passengers, as well as drunken driving,” says David Pabst, director of the WisDOT Bureau of Transportation Safety.

Significant highway construction projects that may affect holiday travel include:

• Zoo Interchange in Milwaukee. Two system ramps are closed: from northbound I-894/45 to westbound I-94, and I-94 westbound to I-894/45 southbound.
• Reconstruction of I-794 east of the Marquette Interchange. Utilize the James Lovell Street/St. Paul Avenue exit from the west. Use the Plankinton Avenue exit when approaching from the south.
• I-94 north-south corridor is reduced to two lanes at the WIS 20 interchange in Racine County.
• US 12/WIS 50 interchange in Lake Geneva is reduced to one lane in both directions on US 12. The US 12 westbound off-ramp to WIS 50 eastbound is closed.
• I-41 in Outagamie and Brown counties and WIS 441 over Little Lake Butte des Morts in Winnebago County. Lane restrictions and speed reductions will slow traffic.
• In Brown County, lane closure on I-43 northbound between the Leo Frigo Bridge and the I-41/43 interchange.
• I-39 at Reserve Street north of Stevens Point, and I-39/Business 51 interchange in Rothschild: reduced speeds in the southbound lanes.
• WIS 29 near Rothschild, westbound WIS 29 at the Business 51 interchange is reduced to a single lane.
• WIS 54 at the Maple Drive intersection in Plover is closed and detoured via I-39 and Portage County B.
• Bong Bridge between Duluth and Superior. US 2 westbound down to a single lane. US 2 eastbound closed with marked detour in place.
• I-90 in La Crosse reduced to one lane of traffic in each direction.
• Verona Road and the Madison Beltline in Dane County.
• WIS 73, between I-39/90 and US 12/18, in Dane County is closed to through traffic.

Motorists can check online for real-time traffic information, including travel times, lane closures and incidents, at www.511wi.gov or by calling 511 on a phone.