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A beautiful new causeway
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Originally opened in 1955, the Lake Butte des Morts Causeway is getting an upgrade. To better accommodate increasing traffic volumes on highway 41, WisDOT is building a new, eight-lane crossing created by widening the existing structure to the west. The new causeway will provide increased safety and stability. Improvements will include:
- Three through-lanes and an auxiliary lane in each direction (to address problems with blowing/drifting snow and make it possible to keep two lanes of traffic open in each direction during construction)
- Lights spanning the entire causeway
- A bicycle/pedestrian recreational trail across the causeway east of the northbound lane
- Fishing access on Lake Butte des Morts
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What is a “causeway”?
There is much confusion over the difference between a “causeway” and a “bridge.” The definitions are not always clear, but usually “bridge” refers to an elevated structure that allows a road to pass over some type of impediment to travel (a river, a gorge or train tracks, for example). A bridge is typically high enough, or can be raised, to allow traffic to pass under it. “Causeway,” on the other hand, usually refers specifically to a raised roadway that provides passage over wetlands. Typically it is close to the surface of the wetlands and does not allow nautical navigation beneath it. By this definition, we see why the crossing that spans Lake Butte des Morts is called a causeway.
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