Wisconsin volunteers create incredible 'ice highway' that cuts an hour-long drive down to just 20 minutes

A team of volunteers has cut travel around Lake Winnebago by creating an ice highway right across the lake – turning an hour-long journey into a 20-minute one.

When the weather takes a turn, there are some folks who decide to make the most of it. 

Like this man who used his Tesla’s FSD to deliver food, or this guy who hired a snow plow and hit the streets. 

And over in Wisconsin, locals have used the frozen Lake Winnebago to create an ice highway that cuts down travel time. 

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The ice highway across Lake Winnebago cuts down travel time

Typically, if you’re in Oshkosh and want to head out to Quinney, the journey takes about an hour, and you have to drive around Lake Winnebago. 

However, volunteers, led by Don Herman, owner of Sunk? Dive and Ice Service, decided to build a special ‘ice highway’ that cuts the journey down to just 20 minutes. 

Herman has been rescuing vehicles that have fallen through the ice on the lake for decades. 

Speaking to NBC News late last month, he explained that the volunteers use snow plows and place study steel bridges across the lake to make a safe ‘road’ for motorists. 

“People use it to get back and forth to work, it’s amazing,” Herman said. 

Cheekily adding that the DIY ice highway was ‘probably better than some roads’ in the local area. 

Somewhat incredibly, Herman reckons thousands of people will travel across the frozen road every day when sturgeon spearing season starts.

To help motorist keep their bearings while out on the ice highway, volunteers used a line of Christmas trees that lean towards the closest shore, to indicate how many miles out you are. 

To mark the midway point, there’s a row of five trees.

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But it also comes with a warning

However, if you happen to spot a tree that is lying on its side or placed upside down, that’s a sign to stay well clear of that area. 

Because while the ice highway has been designed to help motorists save time on the road, it does come with a warning. 

“A tree line going out, it’s always a good thing. Then everybody knows it should be safe, but obviously, the ice isn’t 100 percent safe ever, but we should be good,” Quinney Fishing Club member Adam Ecker told Fox 11.

Herman told NBC that ‘no ice is 100 percent safe’ and that drivers should make their own judgment before heading out. 

As the ice isn’t static, the volunteers have to move the path as cracks appear – and sometimes this can happen multiple times in a day. 

“Just because you use this road on Monday or Tuesday, it can change,” he added.

Herman also said that one vehicle has already gone through the ice, but thankfully got out without injury – although the same can’t be said for their vehicle, which is still at the bottom of the lake.

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