| State: | WI |
| Type: | WI |
| Route: | 15 |
| Map Custom: | yes |
| Map Notes: | WIS-15 highlighted in red |
| Length Mi: | 14.8 |
| Length Ref: | [1] |
| Length Round: | 1 |
| Direction A: | West |
| Terminus A: | southeast of New London |
| Junction: | in Greenville |
| Direction B: | East |
| Terminus B: | northwest of Appleton |
| Counties: | Outagamie |
| Previous Type: | WI |
| Previous Route: | 14 |
| Next Type: | WI |
| Next Route: | 16 |
State Trunk Highway 15 (STH-15, commonly known as Highway 15 or WIS 15) is a 14.8milesstate highway in Outagamie County in the US state of Wisconsin that runs east–west and provides a shortcut to Appleton from U.S. Highway 45 (US 45) for travelers inbound from points north and west. Most of WIS 15 was once part of US 45, which was redirected south of New London to bypass Appleton and provide direct access to Oshkosh and points south.
WIS 15 begins at the junction of US 45 and County Trunk Highway T (CTH-T) in the Town of Hortonia (just southeast of New London) as a two-lane road and heads southeast to Hortonville. The route then continues southeast into Greenville where it becomes a multilane expressway just northwest of the unincorporated community. The highway intersects WIS 76 in Greenville then continues southeast for 1miles before turning east at the junction with CTH-CB. WIS 15 then junctions with US 41 where it ends and Northland Avenue and CTH-OO begins in the Town of Grand Chute, just northwest of Appleton. The route between US 45 and Industrial Park Avenue west of Hortonville and from Greendale Road east of Hortonville to Julius Drive west of Greenville now has centerline rumble strips.[2] WIS 15 provides access to Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.
This is the third iteration of the route number. The first iteration followed present day US 41 from the Illinois border to Marinette via Milwaukee, Fond du Lac, Appleton and Green Bay. The second is the more well-known alignment following the present day Interstate 43 (I-43) from the Hale Interchange in Milwaukee to I-90 in Beloit as the Rock Freeway. From the Hale Interchange, this iteration followed I-894 northward then turned east onto National Avenue and ending in downtown Milwaukee.
Previously, the current WIS 15 route was US 45, which turned south at its intersection with WIS 76. The later highway continued straight on to intersect with Wisconsin Avenue (then US 10) at the north entrance road to the Fox River Mall in Appleton. The road was realigned as part of a large project that realigned US 10 and US 45. Essentially, the road south of Greenville became an extension of WIS 76 and WIS 15 is now the sole route number on the current stretch.
Since 2022, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) has been working on an expansion and reconstruction project between US 45 in New London to WIS 76 in Greenville. The entire length of WIS 15 will be converted into a four-lane divided expressway as part of the project.[3] Also included was the construction of a bypass section of Hortonville which completed in 2023.[4]
Between 2024 and 2025, the highway's interchange with I-41 in Grand Chute will also be reconstructed as part of the wider Appleton area I-41/US 41 expansion project.[5]