They're Gonna Tear Things Up in Milwaukee in 2004...
...and 2005, and 2006, and 2007, and 2008...

Click on the map for a full-size version (195 KB)
Map created using Microsoft's Streets and Trips 2002

In April of 2004 - just as the Milwaukee Admirals will be finishing the 2004 hockey season - the State of Wisconsin will begin the four-year-long reconstruction of the Marquette Interchange and the "High Rise" Bridge.

This will require fans coming in from out of town to use other means of getting to the BC. Here are a few suggestions on how you can get around the construction mess over the next few years:

• From the South (Chicago, Kenosha, Racine, Cudahy, Oak Creek)
  Try using the new Lake Parkway (I-794/STH 794), accessing it from I-94 via the Layton Avenue exit (317), then heading East on Layton for about a mile and a half or so (past Mitchell Airport). Take the Lake Parkway across the Hoan Bridge to exit 1E (Milwaukee Street and Downtown). Turn left on Clybourn Street (at the end of the ramp), head West across the river to 4th Street, then turn right on 4th Street. Head north to the Bradley Center. I would definitely recommend this route for anyone flying in for a game from Mitchell.
  When the East end of the construction is taking place, you may want to instead head North on Milwaukee Street, then take a left on Wisconsin (the second left after Clybourn). Go down to 4th Street, which is right after the big blue building (the Federal Building) and right before the Midwest Airlines Center. The BC is four blocks North on 4th.
• From the Southwest (Rockford, Beloit, Hales Corners)
  Your best bet is to take the I-894/US 45 bypass North to I-94 East (instead of heading East and North on I-43/I-894). Then, head East on I-94 into Milwaukee, BUT instead of taking I-94 all the way in to the city, get off on the 35th Street exit (exit 309 A). At the end of the ramp, turn left and cross back over the freeway.
  Now that the Wisconsin Avenue bridge is closed, you'll need to drive down to Wells Street instead of Wisconsin Avenue. However, I'd suggest taking Wisconsin down to 16th Street, and turn left (North). Head up to Wells Street, and turn right, then go across the new Wells Street bridge, past the Milwaukee Public Museum to the Midwest Airlines Center. Go through the underpass and turn left on Fourth Street. The BC is three blocks up on the left.
  
• From the West (Madison, Waukesha, West Allis)
  Take I-94 East to the 35th Street exit (exit 309A) and follow the route listed above in the second paragraph. If you're really lazy and don't mind going over city streets, you can just take US 18 all the way into Milwaukee on Bluemound Road until you get downtown. Do keep in mind that the area between 35th and the freeway on US 18 is NOT a very good area, despite the last five blocks or so (16th thru 11th) being the Marquette University campus.
• From the Northwest (Green Bay, Fond Du Lac, Menomonie Falls)
  Take US 45 south to the Zoo Interchange, then take I-94 East to the 35th Street exit (exit 309A). Follow the directions from the West. Also, if you don't mind going over city streets for part of the way, you can get off on the US 18 Bluemound Road exit, turn left on Bluemound and take it all the way into Milwaukee as well.
• From the North (Sheboygan, Port Washington, Shorewood)
  This is the tough one. You may actually have to come dangerously close to the actual construction area, because there's not really a better way to get into the city. Take I-43 South to exit 73C (North 8th Street/North Avenue exit). At North Avenue, veer to the left and go back across the freeway to Halyard Street. There'll be a park off to your right. Take Halyard over to 6th Street, and follow 6th Street south to Juneau Avenue. Juneau Avenue will be the first street just on the other side of what is now a big empty strip of land (where the old Park Freeway used to be); turn left on Juneau, then right on 4th Street.
  If there is any way you can come in to downtown using either Farwell/Prospect or Lincoln Memorial Drive, it'd probably save you some hassle. On Farwell, take it all the way South until it turns into Prospect, then turn right on State. Go all the way down and over the river; then turn right at the second stoplight (4th Street). If you're using Lincoln Memorial, take that all the way down past the War Memorial and Art Museum, turning right on East Clybourn Street. At the first set of stoplights, turn right and go six blocks North on North Van Buren Street to State Street. Turn left on State, go across the river, then turn right at the second stoplight, 4th Street.

General Notes about the reconstruction:

• The Northern section of the reconstruction is scheduled to last from October 2004 through to November 2006, and will most likely be the first part completed. You may be tempted to take Wisconsin Avenue across I-43, but the overpass will be closed until December of 2006. In fact, the only bridges to be open for 2006 will be State and Wells Street. No other bridges will be open to the North until June 1, 2006.
• The Western section construction is scheduled to be under construction from February 2005 to November of 2006. A lot of this work will be done on the overpasses and exits just West of the Marquette Interchange, all the way back to 26th street. Your best bet is to take the first exit right after the Stadium Interchange and head North on surface streets into downtown.
• The Southern section is scheduled to be under construction from October 2005 to November 2007. This will be the hardest of the non-core sections to be finished, as it is the so-called "high rise bridge" that funnels most of the traffic heading north into the city. In general, it would be wise to avoid this stretch of highway any way you can. The best alternate routes around this area would be to use Miller Park Way or the Lake Parkway.
• The core of the construction, the interchange itself (the black part in the map shown above), will be under construction from November 2005 to November 2008. Since the whole interchange is being redone, trying to get from one side of the interchange to the other will be daunting, if not impossible at times.
• For more info on the whole project, go to The Official Wisconsin DOT Interchange Reconstruction Information site.