Planning resources

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) provides a number of resources to assist transportation professionals with their planning efforts.

Planning maps

• Functional Classification ​​
  
• Connecting Highways
• National Highway System (NHS) planning maps
• Urban Area Boundary (UAB) maps​
  
• Metropolitan Planning Area (MPA) B​oundary maps​
  
• Corridors 2030 highway network
• Federal-Aid Primary Routes​
  
• State Access Management Plan (SAMP)​
  

Statewide plans

• Long-range plans (current)
• Past statewide long-range plans​​

Local consultation and coordination

WisDOT cooperates and consults continually with local officials and tribal governments in areas of the state that are not served by Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs). The Department has updated its Coordination Document (23 CFR 450.210(b)(1)), which outlines the Department’s processes for coordinating with these and other parties during the development of required planning products and other select programs.

This new revision incorporates updates from WisDOT business areas and includes a general Public Involvement Plan in Appendix B that can be applied to statewide long-range transportation plans.

There were no comments received during public comment period (January 27 through March 29, 2026).​​

Corridor studies and plans​​

Part of WisDOT’s former long-range transportation plan, Connections 2030, was the identification of a series of system-level priority corridors. These corridors are critical to Wisconsin’s travel patterns and support the state’s economy.​

Freight corridors​

• Critical Freight Corridors Package - 2019​
  
  • Designated Critical Rural Freight Corridors and Critical Urban Freight Corridors as part of the National Highway Freight Network (NHFN)
    

Manuals and guidance

WisDOT has developed a Transportation Planning Manual for traffic forecasting that provides a web-based resource to communicate forecasting policies. It links to other WisDOT manuals and helps provide uniform forecast decisions on Wisconsin's transportation system.

• Transportation Planning Manual - Traffic Forecasting, Travel Demand Models and other Planning Data (Updated March 2025)
  
  • Memo showing document changes (Updated March 2025)​

WisDOT has developed planning guidance for the development of pedestrian and bicycle facilities.

• Pedestrian planning resources​
  
• Bicycle planning resources

WisDOT created a document that provides guidelines for developing Transportation Improvement Programs (TIPs).

• TIP Preparation Guidance
  

Comprehensive planning

WisDOT prepared the Transportation Planning Resource Guide in 2001 to help communities in their efforts to develop the transportation element of a comprehensive plan under Wisconsin State Statutes, s. 66.1001. The purpose​ of this guide is to provide transport​ation planning related information and help communities in the process of transportation planning to successfully develop the transportation element.​

​Related information:

• Planning organizations

If you have questions or need additional information on any of these items, send an email to bop.dtim@dot.wi.gov.