State Trunk Highway 131 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 WIS 131 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by WisDOT | ||||
| Length | 78.9 mi[1] (127.0 km) | |||
| Existed | 1924–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  WIS 60 in Wauzeka | |||
| North end |   US 12 / WIS 16 in Tomah | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Wisconsin | |||
| Counties | Crawford, Vernon, Richland, Monroe | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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State Trunk Highway 131 (also called Highway 131, STH-131 or WIS 131) is a 78.9-mile (127.0 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The highway is located in Wisconsin's Driftless Area, passing through Crawford, Vernon, Richland, and Monroe counties. It runs from WIS 60 near Wauzeka north to US Highway 12 (US 12) and WIS 16 in Tomah. WIS 131 is maintained by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT).
WIS 131 was designated by 1924 on a road between Ferryville and Gays Mills. It was realigned and extended several times in the next twenty-five years, and by 1948 it connected Wauzeka and Tomah roughly along its present route. The highway was rerouted in northern Vernon County in the 1970s in expectation of a new dam on the Kickapoo River; however, part of the rerouting between Rockton and Ontario was put on hold when the dam project stalled in 1975. WisDOT consequently performed very little maintenance on this section of WIS 131 for the next two decades, and it fell into disrepair. The state ultimately rebuilt the highway in the early 2000s, and the refurbished highway opened in 2003.