US-53 Eau Claire Bypass Construction Photos, May 29, 2004

View of the US-53 freeway bypass of Eau Claire under construction on May 29, 2004. Photo taken from the CTH-A/Highland Ave overpass in Altoona looking southerly. Photo ©2004 by Christopher J. Bessert. All Rights Reserved. Photos may not be used in any manner without prior written permission.

View of US-53 freeway from the CTH-A/Highland Ave overpass taken on May 29, 2004. At the crest of the rise in the distance is the Union Pacific Railroad overpass. Photo ©2004 by Christopher J. Bessert. All Rights Reserved. Photos may not be used in any manner without prior written permission.

Another shot of the same location as the previous one above, zoomed into the distance more. Photo ©2004 by Christopher J. Bessert. All Rights Reserved. Photos may not be used in any manner without prior written permission.

View looking north along the US-53 freeway under construction on May 29, 2004 from the Fuller Ave overpass about 1/2 mile north of the STH-312/CTH-Q North Crossing interchange. Photo ©2004 by Christopher J. Bessert. All Rights Reserved. Photos may not be used in any manner without prior written permission.

Fuller Ave overpass spanning the US-53 freeway east of Eau Claire, taken looking east on May 29, 2004. At this point, the freeway lanes were graded with the sub-base in place, but paving had not yet taken place. Photo ©2004 by Christopher J. Bessert. All Rights Reserved. Photos may not be used in any manner without prior written permission.

A view of the southern large cut created for the US-53 freeway in the City of Eau Claire. Photo taken on May 29, 2004 from Fuller Ave east of the new freeway looking southerly toward the new North Crossing interchange. Photo ©2004 by Christopher J. Bessert. All Rights Reserved. Photos may not be used in any manner without prior written permission.

Another view of the US-53 freeway taken on May 29, 2004 from Fuller Ave looking northerly. Photo ©2004 by Christopher J. Bessert. All Rights Reserved. Photos may not be used in any manner without prior written permission.

View of the US-53 freeway under construction in Lake Hallie northeast of Eau Claire on May 29, 2004. In this photo, taken from Melby St looking northerly, shows the northbound on-ramp from Melby St. Also shown is a rather sternly-worded sign stating: "No Trespassing. State of Wis—Owner. Violators will be prosecuted, Sec 943.13 Wis Statues." It would seem that WisDOT is serious about people not taking scenic trips down the uncompleted freeway... Photo ©2004 by Christopher J. Bessert. All Rights Reserved. Photos may not be used in any manner without prior written permission.

A view of the US-53 freeway looking southerly from Melby St on May 29, 2004. This photo also shows the northbound off-ramp from the new freeway to Melby St. Visible in the distance is the northern of the two major cuts created for the project. Photo ©2004 by Christopher J. Bessert. All Rights Reserved. Photos may not be used in any manner without prior written permission.

This somewhat grainy photo shows the temporary overhead sign erected along northbound US-53/STH-124/Hastings Way approaching the CTH-OO intersection. From 2003 to June 2005, US-53 traffic was diverted off Hastings Way, travelling easterly via a relocated CTH-OO to the southern end of the completed US-53 freeway. Prior to 2003, US-53 continued straight through this intersection for an additional half mile to the original US-53 trumpet interchange, which was removed for this project. Photo ©2004 by Christopher J. Bessert. All Rights Reserved. Photos may not be used in any manner without prior written permission.

Although marred by the raindrops on the car windshield, the sgns on this overhead assembly were changed in 2003 to indicate US-53's temporary turn at CTH-OO to meet up with the southern end of the completed bypass at the time. Today, STH-124 turns easterly via the relocated CTH-OO route, shown here as part of US-53 to Rice Lake and Superior. Photo ©2004 by Christopher J. Bessert. All Rights Reserved. Photos may not be used in any manner without prior written permission.

Looking easterly along the temporary route of US-53 (relocated CTH-OO) in Lake Hallie at the southern end of the completed US-53 freeway, taken on May 29, 2004. At the time, northbound US-53 traffic turned right onto what is now the southbound US-53 on-ramp, as the ramp was configured to feed into the northbound lanes of the new freeway. This was done to eliminate crossing the "streams of traffic" from US-53 while the remainder of the Eau Claire bypass was being constructed. Prior to the completion of BYP US-53 from the CTH-OO interchange southerly to the STH-312/CTH-Q/North Crossing interchange in 2005, the temporary ramp was eliminated and traffic heading toward Rice Lake and Superior was then routed via the "regular" on-ramp from this highway. Photo ©2004 by Christopher J. Bessert. All Rights Reserved. Photos may not be used in any manner without prior written permission.

Additional Information

• US-53 Listing
• BYPASS US-53 Listing

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