All Marquette lanes to open by August
The era of detours through the Marquette Interchange will end a couple months earlier than projected, Gov. Jim Doyle announced this afternoon.
All of the lanes and ramps that carry roughly 300,000 vehicles per day and link the state's primary east-west and north-south interstate routes will be open by the end of August, said Doyle. The original time frame put that completion marker in November.
The project also will be completed under the budget of $810 million, Doyle said.
"The city of Milwaukee is the center for culture and commerce in Wisconsin and this key piece of infrastructure is an important addition to a thriving downtown," he said in a written statement.
Some of the work scheduled to be finished early will complete the connection between northbound I-43 and westbound I-94; southbound I-43 to eastbound I-794; and westbound I-794 to both northbound and southbound I-43.
New ramps will provide access to I-43 from W. Wisconsin Ave. at N. 11th St.
Milwaukee Ald. Bob Bauman, who represents the downtown district most affected by the construction work, praised the work on the state's largest road project.
"I think it really was well-executed, and I'm no big fan of those guys," Bauman said. "When they do projects well, they should be acknowledged for that."
http://www.jsonline.com/watch/?watch=1&date=7/1/2008&id=42539