Towing in Menasha, WI

Which Menasha Roads Carry the Most Traffic?

The Tri-County Expressway does. US 10 and WIS 441 run along Menasha's north side and carried 52,300 vehicles a day between County AP and WIS 47 in 2023, rising to 54,700 east of WIS 47 in 2025. Merges, lane changes and winter glare make that corridor the likeliest place in Menasha to end up on a shoulder.

Stalled on the Tri-County Expressway

A breakdown on an expressway shoulder is the riskiest place to wait. Pull as far right as you can and stay belted. Wisconsin counted 760 secondary crashes at incident scenes in 2023, which is why our operators park the truck as a shield and use the Move Over law in their favor: drivers must leave the lane next to a stopped tow truck with lights flashing, or slow down if they cannot.

Appleton Road, Oneida Street and Racine Road

WIS 47 is Appleton Rd and Memorial Dr here. It carries 22,500 vehicles a day between US 10 and Valley Rd and 17,100 on Memorial between Chain and Calumet. S Oneida St between Valley Rd and WIS 441 sees 21,600, and Racine Rd (County P) north of Ninth St 18,400. Those are the store and restaurant strips, so the calls are lockouts in parking lots, cars that will not start after a shift and fender-benders at the lights.

Two Lift Bridges Downtown

The Racine Street Bridge over the Menasha Channel is a new bascule bridge built from October 2020 to April 2023 for about $33 million, with roundabouts at Main St and Ahnaip St. The 1929 Tayco Street Bridge lifts over the Government Canal on the main route to Neenah. When a car dies on a bridge deck, we load it with a low-angle approach so the bumper clears and the span reopens quickly.

Winter Parking Rules That Lead to Tows in Menasha

Ordinance 10-1-29 bans overnight street parking from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. every night from Nov. 1 to March 31. From April through October the city switches to odd/even alternate-side parking, based on the date before midnight. Residents without a driveway can buy a $30 monthly overnight permit through the Menasha Police Department, but even permitted cars must be moved every 72 hours. Guests staying over in winter should plan on a driveway or an off-street lot, since the ban covers residential blocks as well as the main roads.

When the city declares a snow emergency, no parking is allowed on any Menasha street, and vehicles that get in the way of plows may be ticketed or towed at the owner's expense. If your car was hauled away, call the police first to find out where it went. We can then pick it up from the impound lot and take it home or to a shop.

Lots behind apartments and businesses follow state rules. Under Trans 319, the nonconsensual towing rate cap is $150 per tow, storage is $25 a day outdoors or $35 indoors, and gate fees are not allowed. The tow company also has to notify the local police before removing a car from posted private property, or it cannot collect any fee at all.

Snow, Cold and Channel Ice Around Menasha

The Appleton station, about 5 miles north, averages 49.4 in of snow a year, a good 10 in more than Oshkosh. January lows average 10.0F, with about 18 nights at or below 0F and 156.8 nights at or below freezing. At 32F a battery has already lost roughly 35% of its strength, and at 0F about 60%, so a weak battery that started fine in October quits in January. Statewide, Wisconsin winter crashes topped 13,000 from October 2024 to May 2025. WisDOT's winter kit advice is a half-full tank, blankets, water, a scraper and a phone charger in the car.

Snow on the side streets near Smith Park, the city's oldest park from 1897, and on the roads out by the 91-acre Heckrodt Wetland Reserve puts cars into banks every winter. Our winch-out recovery team rigs a line from solid ground and pulls you straight out. Watch for deer too: Winnebago County deer crashes totaled 532 in 2024.

Ice fishermen know the northwest corner of Lake Winnebago well. Two sturgeon spearers' pickups fell through near Menasha when fog and a GPS route put them by the river channel. The southern half of Little Lake Butte des Morts also lies inside Menasha and Neenah, and moving water keeps the ice uneven there.