Drivers who cross State Highway 23 at County Road TT in Sheboygan County say they brace themselves every time, and the numbers back up their unease: state data reported 43 crashes at the intersection between 2014 and 2024, with more than 10 people killed or injured in that span. Now the Wisconsin Department of Transportation is moving to reconstruct the crossing into a Restricted Crossing U-Turn, commonly called a J-turn, aiming to cut off the kind of direct crossings that have made the spot so dangerous.
Sara Kregel, who lives in nearby Howards Grove, said the intersection rattles her nerves every time she approaches it. “Gives me anxiety going on 23 in general,” Kregel said, according to TMJ4 News. She said she has seen many close calls involving semi traffic at the crossing, which sits along a major route between Sheboygan and Plymouth, about a mile north of a business park.
Louicia Fanslau, who lives in Plymouth, travels through the intersection every day and describes a similar pattern of near-misses. She worries about speeding vehicles and semi-trucks turning in ways that temporarily block traffic lanes, and she said vehicles simply move too fast for people to think clearly before reacting. Motorcycles, trucks and oversized vehicles, she added, often seem not to follow the rules at the crossing.
A Redesign Meant to Eliminate Straight Crossings
The planned J-turn would restrict direct crossings of Highway 23 altogether. Under the new design, drivers crossing the highway would instead turn right onto Highway 23, make a U-turn at a designated location, and then turn right onto County Road TT to continue on their way, per the same TMJ4 report. WisDOT's project hub describes the plan as including a shift of the intersection to the west and a realignment of County Road TT, citing the location's crash history as the reason for the overhaul, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Projects Hub.
WisDOT had previously considered building an overpass at the intersection, but the agency is now prioritizing safety improvements that can move forward sooner. Scott Ebel, project development supervisor for WisDOT's northeast region, said the calculus came down to timing. “It would be irresponsible for us to not make those safety improvements at the intersection that we're able to make today,” Ebel said, per TMJ4's report. The planned improvements are expected to be constructed next year, though a precise start date has not been detailed.
A Deadly Crash Underscored the Stakes
The concerns are not abstract. On Friday, July 22, a two-vehicle crash on westbound Wisconsin 23 near County Road TT left a 75-year-old Sheboygan Falls woman dead, according to FOX6 News. An 81-year-old man suffered life-threatening injuries and was flown via Flight for Life to Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa, while a 35-year-old Plymouth woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Officials said alcohol was not a factor in that crash.
That wasn't the only serious wreck on the corridor this year. In June, a semi overturned in a crash on Highway 23 at Scenic View Drive in Greenbush that left one person dead and three others hurt, as reported by FOX 11 News. Together, the crashes illustrate the kind of high-speed, rural-highway danger that researchers have flagged as a persistent statewide problem, with intersections along high-speed expressways especially prone to through and left-turn collisions, according to the Transportation Research Record.
How J-Turns Have Performed Elsewhere in Wisconsin
WisDOT has leaned on J-turns as a lower-cost fix across the state, and the agency says the design has produced real results. The department reports that similar RCUT intersections elsewhere in Wisconsin have seen reductions of more than 70% in fatal and injury crashes, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. WisDOT has noted that a standard intersection carries 42 potential conflict points for vehicles, compared with just 24 for a J-turn, per NEW Media Inc.
One of the clearest examples sits far north of Sheboygan County. A once-deadly intersection on Highway 53 in Douglas County is now considered one of the safest in the state after its J-turn conversion, because the design doesn't allow traffic to cross the highway in a straight shot, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. That project cost less than $2 million, compared with an estimated $10 million to $14 million for a full interchange before factoring in real-estate costs — a price gap that helps explain why state officials plan to keep expanding the design statewide, including potential projects in Door and Washburn counties.
For drivers like Kregel and Fanslau, the statewide track record offers some reassurance, but the daily reality on Highway 23 remains the same until construction begins. Until then, the intersection stays a flashpoint for the kind of close calls and tragic outcomes that pushed WisDOT to act.
