MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin's road construction season creates major detours for Milwaukee area drivers.
The spring construction season is hitting the area just west of downtown Milwaukee particularly hard this year, with multiple viaduct closures and road projects creating significant detours for drivers traveling between the north and south sides.
Watch: Road construction season is upon us in Wisconsin and in Milwaukee, it is creating lasting detours for many drivers.
The 16th and 27th Street viaducts are closed, and 35th Street is open but with some access changes. National Avenue is also torn up, impacting businesses in the area. All of this is happening alongside the ongoing I-94 reconstruction project.
The State of Wisconsin says it has more than 400 construction projects this year.
The City of Milwaukee says it has 50 projects.
To understand the impact on drivers, TMJ4's Charles Benson went to El Rey Grocery store near 16th and Mineral and looked for the quickest route to Marquette High School near 35th and Wisconsin.
Apple Maps offered a couple of options — including going east to jump on the highway to get over to Marquette High. That detour exists because the 16th Street viaduct has been closed as part of an ongoing project scheduled to reopen in the fall.
City Engineer Kevin Muhs, with Milwaukee's Department of Public Works, said the improvements are necessary despite the frustration they cause drivers.
"16th Street is a structurally necessary project. We have the portion of the bridge over the viaduct over the river, over the Menomonee River, that we're rehabbing and replacing because structurally it needs to happen now," Muhs said.
The detour challenges extend to the south side as well.
Starting near 27th and Layton and heading to Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee, the best available route was the 6th Street bridge. The 27th Street bridge closed in February as part of the state's I-94 East-West construction project. The 35th Street bridge is open, but access is impacted by ramp closures.
Coordination between city and state projects has been a key challenge. National Avenue is a state highway and a state-led project, but its timing created difficult choices.
"So delaying National wouldn't have been, 'oh, do we do it this year or next year?' It's, 'do we start it now or do we start it 5 or 6 years from now?' And that again really wasn't an option," Muhs said.
Muhs acknowledged the construction may make it harder for people to reach their favorite restaurants and businesses. He encouraged drivers to plan their routes ahead of time and make visiting those places a priority during construction season.
This story was reported on-air by Charles Benson journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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