WisDOT: Most highway projects to be put on hold for Fourth of July holiday travel

MILWAUKEE -- To accommodate heavy traffic expected during the three-day Fourth of July holiday weekend, construction on most major highway projects in Wisconsin will be suspended at noon on Friday, July 1 and will not resume until Tuesday, July 5, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

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).

“Peak travel times are expected between approximately noon and 8 p.m. on Friday and Monday,” says Don Greuel with WisDOT’s Project Services Section. “Traffic will be heavy throughout the holiday period, so driving through work zones will require caution and patience. 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.”

A press release from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation says that last year, five people died in a traffic crashes in Wisconsin during the Fourth of July holiday period, which ran from Friday, July 3, through Sunday, July 5.

“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 road construction projects that may affect highway travel during the holiday weekend include the following: