Interstate name for Highway 41 to be revealed next month

Vehicles travel down Highway 41 in West Bend recently. Highway 41 could become Interstate 41 by mid-November. (AP File Photo/West Bend Daily News, John Ehlke)

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — U.S. Highway 41 in northeast Wisconsin will soon become part of the Interstate Highway System but it may not have to change numbers.

The last interstate conversion in Wisconsin happened in 1996, when U.S. 51 became I-39 between Portage and Wausau.

Wisconsin Department of Transportation officials said Wednesday they requested “41″ as the interstate designation number for the 142-mile stretch between Milwaukee and Green Bay.

A decision by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the Federal Highway Administration is expected by mid-November.

Transportation department spokesman Kim Rudat said they hope to change the signs to the red and blue shield interstate signs in spring 2014, with a cost of $12 million.