"The speeds are lowered. The pedestrian accommodations are increasing." That's how Village Administrator Matt Schuenke summed up the US 51 rebuild through McFarland, as reported by the McFarland Thistle.
He was describing the finished road, but the line also fits the next seven months. In early December, the bridge over the Yahara River closes to all traffic. Through traffic leaves for the interstate, and the stretch of US 51 from Larson Beach Road to Exchange Street starts carrying mostly local trips. The new corridor is designed to keep much of that character after the bridge reopens.
The river becomes the line
WisDOT has kept traffic moving on single lanes since late September. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation's project page lists September 21, 2026 as the construction start, and the Village of McFarland's construction Q&A said single-lane traffic in each direction would begin September 23.
The bigger change comes next. WisDOT project manager Cody Kammerzelt told the Thistle that traffic would be maintained "up until Dec. 1. Then we will close U.S. Highway 51." The Village gives the timing as "early December 2026." Both say the same thing about the bridge: no traffic will cross the Yahara River until the new one is finished.
North of the river, US 51 stays open from Yahara Drive to Larson Beach Road, one lane each way.
For trips toward Stoughton, the official detour is long. The Thistle reported it as east on the Beltline, south on Interstate 90, then west on US 51 in the Town of Albion. The Village describes the signed route as using I-39/90 and US 12/18. It also asks drivers to find alternate routes to keep congestion down in the work zone.
What stays reachable, and where it gets harder
The commercial strip doesn't close. The Village says plainly that businesses along the construction zone "will remain open and be accessible throughout the project."
That one-mile stretch holds a lot of everyday errands. The Thistle named La Penca, Maple Tree Supper Club, Palenque, Culver's, Luke's Cafe, Kwik Trip, Pick 'n Save, Walgreens and One Community Bank, plus the entrance to Babcock County Park.
The addresses show how many of them front the highway directly:
- Culver's, 4700 Farwell Street
- Luke's Cafe, 5700 US Hwy 51
- One Community Bank, 5990 Hwy 51
- Maple Tree Supper Club, 6010 US-51
Schuenke told the Thistle that "people will have access to Farwell Street," and added that the bigger problems will be for people heading farther south. A stop that used to sit on the way to or from Stoughton now needs a trip planned around the side of the river it's on.
Homes inside the work zone stay reachable too. The Village says WisDOT staff will contact owners directly if work will briefly affect a driveway. It also encourages anyone with another way home to use it.
Babcock's boat launch closes first
The road isn't the only thing changing on this stretch of Lake Waubesa. Dane County Parks is closing parts of Babcock County Park on the same schedule as the highway work. The boat launch is expected to close from winter 2026 through July 2027, and the campground is expected to stay closed for the 2027 season and reopen in 2028. The county's notice covers the launch and campground, not the whole park.
For anyone with a Dane County Lake Access permit, the county lists two other launches on Lake Waubesa:
- Goodland County Park Boat Launch, 2844 Waubesa Ave, Madison
- W.G. Lunney Lake Farm Boat Launch, 4286 Libby Rd, Madison
The closure is also groundwork for a better Babcock. According to Dane County's project page, the plan includes an accessible fishing pier and shoreline fishing pads, an accessible boat boarding pier, a paved walkway, upgrades to the shared-use path, more day-use and accessible parking, and shoreline restoration with native plantings.
The corridor on the other side
The detour sends through traffic away from the village's main commercial area for now. The permanent design keeps the road slower and easier to walk once that traffic comes back. The speed limit from Yahara Drive to Larson Beach Road drops from 40 mph to 30 mph, and new sidewalks go in on both sides of a route that mostly has none today. Here is what else changes on the Larson Beach-to-Exchange stretch, according to the Thistle's project summary and the Village Q&A:
| Location | What the project builds |
|---|---|
| Larson Beach Road intersection | Dual-lane roundabout |
| Farwell Street | New signals with offset left-turn lanes |
| Yahara Drive to Burma Road | Two-way left-turn lane |
| Pedestrian crossings | Rapid flashing beacons south of the roundabout, at Burma Road and at the Babcock boat launch entrance |
| Yahara River bridge | Pedestrian underpass to Babcock Park beneath the new bridge, on the north side of the river |
The underpass is the piece McFarland asked for. Schuenke told the Thistle that the Village requested it and that its share of the cost is about $1.5 million, on a contract Governor Tony Evers signed for $33 million with R.G. Huston Company as the main contractor. Most of the corridor is paid for elsewhere. The one part the Village is paying for on purpose is a walking connection between the commercial strip and the park.
There's a local preview of the finished product a mile north. The Thistle reported that reconstruction from Larson Beach Road north to Voges Road wrapped up in late November 2025. That segment is the most recent sign of what the 18.1-mile corridor from Voges Road to Interstate 39/90 east of Stoughton will look like when it's done.
Bridge back in July 2027, full corridor in 2028
The Thistle reported that the bridge should be finished around the first week of July 2027. Reopening the bridge doesn't end the project. The Village says US 51 and the bridge will reopen in mid-2027 but stay at single lanes in both directions through the project area, with work expected to wrap up by spring 2028. WisDOT's project hub gives an anticipated completion of late May 2028.
Put together, that's about seven months of a split highway, followed by close to another year of lane restrictions. The full corridor should arrive in late spring 2028, around the time the Babcock campground expects to reopen for its 2028 season.
Dates through early December
The closure also overlaps with a stretch of village planning and the holiday calendar:
- Wednesday, November 4, 6 p.m.: The Village's Comprehensive Plan public meeting at 5915 Milwaukee Street, with discussion tables that include business development and downtown. With the US 51 strip's future being built now, those tables are timely.
- November 22: Last day for the online Comprehensive Plan survey.
- Early December, December 1 per WisDOT: The Yahara River bridge closes to all traffic.
- Saturday, December 5: The McFarland Chamber's Winter Wonderland in the Village, with a craft and vendor fair, live reindeer, a bonfire, warm drinks, music, and Santa and Mrs. Claus arriving by fire truck at Arnold Larson Park.
For week-by-week updates, the Village Q&A says to email WisDOT project manager Cody Kammerzelt to join the weekly update list, or to check the WisDOT project page.
If you're thinking about listing a home near the US 51 corridor in 2027 or 2028, timing matters, and so does how you describe the neighborhood. A home that goes on the market after the roundabout, sidewalks and Babcock underpass are finished is in a different setting than one listed in the middle of the detour. 47 Bricks Realty can walk you through how construction phases line up with a listing calendar. Schedule a no-obligation consultation, or start with a free home valuation.
