By the early 1990s, WIS 57, the primary route into and out of the Door Peninsula's resort country, had become inadequate to safely carry current traffic loads, and a Wisconsin Department of Transportation study found an increasing rate of highway-related crashes. After evaluating that study, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation developed a plan to realign, widen, and improve the southern portion of the highway to promote public safety and enhance regional economic development in accord with its Corridors 2020 report. Before selecting a final design, the agency conducted environmental, cultural, and archaeological studies to assess the effects of road construction on the Door Peninsula's cultural and natural landscape. Consultation among the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, and project stakeholders led to the selection of a route for the new highway intended to minimize impacts on the natural and cultural environment. To safeguard archaeological and historic resources affected by the project, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the Federal Highway Administration, the Wisconsin State Historic Preservation Officer, and other stakeholders, including the Forest County Potawatomi Community of Wisconsin, Ho-Chunk Nation, Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma, Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, and Peninsula Belgian-American Club. Archaeological investigations carried out under this agreement provided an unparalleled opportunity to investigate the rich but often fragile archaeological and historical record of northeastern Wisconsin. The reconstruction project began about one mile north of the WIS 54/57 interchange in Brown County and continued north for 27.5 miles to the WIS 42 intersection about eight miles north of Brussels, generally paralleling the old two-lane road while widening and redesigning it as a limited access, four-lane highway.