MILWAUKEE — As American Family Field gets ready to welcome tens of thousands of Brewers fans for Opening Day on Thursday, surrounding neighbors could see busier-than-normal traffic impacts due to the I-94 expansion project.
TMJ4 spoke to neighbors who will see those impacts firsthand. Traffic has been constant since the Wisconsin Department of Transportation started its expansion project. Right now, most of the traffic buildup is right by American Family Field, causing some motorists to look for alternative routes right through the Story Hill neighborhood.
Watch: Story Hill neighbors brace for opening day traffic amid I-94 expansion project
On any given Brewers game day, the neighborhood is full of cars trying to find their way to the game or score a free spot. Story Hill resident Mark McLees has seen it for decades and is always prepared for it.
"It is bumper-to-bumper traffic, and every spot is parked in, and then there’s another 50 of them that aren’t supposed to park there," McLees said.
McLees says he’s seen an uptick in traffic since the closure.
Traffic is similar one block south. Story Hill resident Scott Karr said the volume of cars has increased.
"It’s at least doubled, at least at certain times of the day, maybe even tripled certain times. It’s inconvenient for us, it’s hard to get out of the driveway, it’s hard to get in the driveway, it’s hard to get here," Karr said.
With Opening Day on the horizon, neighbors expect some change. The Wisconsin DOT says they have been working for years on these concerns, working closely with the Brewers on alternate routes and through partnerships with local law enforcement to help with traffic.
"Game day traffic has always been there; it’ll just look a little different this year," a Wisconsin DOT spokesperson told TMJ4 in an email Wednesday afternoon.
Karr says he’s ready for the increased traffic.
"No real concerns, it’s probably going to be a little busier than a normal year," Karr said.
The neighbors TMJ4 talked to said the benefits outweigh the inconveniences.
"It’s the cost of progress," Karr said.
Fans heading to the game can visit brewers.com/Traffic for real-time traffic conditions, construction updates and route information.
This story was reported on-air by a 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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