Wisconsin Highway 794
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| Lake Parkway John R. Plewa Memorial Lake Parkway |
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| Maintained by WisDOT | ||||
| Length: | 4.76 mi (7.66 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end: |
 CTH-ZZ in South Milwaukee
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| North end: |
 I-794 in Milwaukee
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| Location | ||||
| Counties: | Milwaukee | |||
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State Trunk Highway 794 (officially the John R. Plewa Memorial Lake Parkway and often called Highway 794, STH 794, WIS 794 or Lake Parkway) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It runs north–south in Milwaukee County from downtown Milwaukee to its southern suburbs. WIS 794 is the highest numbered Wisconsin state highway in the state trunk highway system.
WIS 794 is one of only two numbered state trunk highways, along with WIS 39, that share a number designation with an Interstate or Federal/US highway within the state's borders. Wisconsin Department of Transportation policy prohibited dual designations within the state trunk highway system, prior to the commissioning of I-39.
The Lake Parkway was originally planned to be a lakeside freeway, named the Lake Freeway, extending from just north of downtown Milwaukee all the way south to the Illinois state line connecting with the Amstutz Expressway and possibly following all the way to Lake Shore Drive. Due to protests over construction the Lake Freeway was never completed, and the Amstutz Expressway in Illinois was similarly never completed. Before the Lake Freeway project was cancelled, a portion of the route was built immediately south of downtown Milwaukee. The Hoan Bridge, a bridge spanning the mouth of the Milwaukee River connecting downtown and Bay View, was constructed. However, the bridge stood unused for three years subsequent to its completion, unconnected to any other road, and locally it was known as the 'Bridge to Nowhere'. The unfinished bridge was used as the site of a car chase scene in the movie The Blues Brothers. In 1977, the freeway was connected to the East-West Freeway and Carferry Drive, causing traffic from the Lake Freeway to exit and crowd onto surface streets.
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