Hit the Road: Later Road Development
Advertising highway
improvements in Dane
County. Courtesy of
Wisconsin Historical Society
Archives (PH Series 2706) In contrast to the early roads in Wisconsin, which
were built by the military or constructed and maintained
by towns and municipalities, road development during
the early 20th century was the responsibility of
the state. Spurred by the 1890s Good Roads Movement,
and later by automobile and agricultural lobbyists,
the passage of a public roads law in 1911 ushered
in a new era of transportation. During
the 20th century, the state embarked on new programs
of road improvements, bridge repairs, and state trunk
and interstate highway construction to provide fast,
efficient and a relatively safe means of travel.
These pages were developed as a cooperative project between the Wisconsin Historical Society and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation with assistance from Mead and Hunt.
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