The Zoo Interchange construction reached a milestone, as crews are exactly one year away from completing the core of construction.
The often dreaded commutes for nearly 350,000 drivers a day is creeping closer to free flowing traffic.
Project supervisor Mark Klipstein said the project is on time and on budget.
"As you can see when you drive through, there's not much left of the original zoo interchange itself," Klipstein said.
The state of the art four-level freeway system is a stark contrast to the previous 1960s on-ground design. Construction supervisor Jason Roselle said the first core of the construction began in the fall of 2014. Nearly three years and half a billion dollars later, the project is 75 percent complete.
"One of the major changes to the interchange is that everything is now a right hand exit whereas we used to have left hand exits throughout the interchange for some of the major system ramps," Roselle said.
Traveling the interchange is getting a bit easier as new ramps and bridges along Greenfield, Lincoln and Elm Grove start to reopen.
Roselle said the complex design comes with a purpose.
“We wanted to minimize real estate acquisition and keep within the same footprint," Roselle said.
Those who frequent Bluemound Road will be pleased on Friday, that’s when Elm Grove bridge is slated to open.
