Just weeks remain before the project to modernize a 14-mile stretch of Interstate 43 in the northern suburbs of Milwaukee is officially scheduled wrap up around the beginning of July.
The I-43 North-South project, which spans from Bender Road in Glendale to Highway 60 in Grafton, began in 2021. The purpose of the project is to expand the route ― one of Wisconsin’s busiest ― from four to six lanes, reconstruct five interchanges, add a new interchange at Highland Road and replace the Union Pacific railroad bridge over I-43 in Glendale. It will also expand a section of Port Washington Road in Glendale from two to four lanes, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s webpage on the project.
In 2025, efforts have been concentrated on continuing construction work along the south end segment and the Mequon Road segment.
But the North-South project isn’t the only construction taking place along the interstate. Other projects include work between Brown Street and Capitol Drive and resurfacing I-43 between the Oak Leaf Trail and Bender Road.
Here’s what to expect:
When will I-43 construction between Glendale and Grafton finish?
The final segment of the I-43 North-South project between Glendale and Grafton, the Mequon Road interchange, is wrapping up final work and was scheduled for completion by mid-2025.
WisDOT is aiming to finish this work by early July, though inclement weather could push that back, WisDOT spokesperson Dan Sellers told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
In the meantime, the traffic impacts in place are as follows:
Where will construction along I-43 between Brown Street and Capitol Drive take place in 2025?
The project along I-43 between Brown Street and Capitol Drive is also scheduled to finish mid-2025. Sellers said WisDOT aims to finish construction work around mid-July.
In the meantime, the area will continue to have extended-hour overnight closures as crews complete final paving operations.
In the meantime, the following closures are in place:
I-43 resurfacing between Oak Leaf Trail and Bender Road is scheduled to finish in fall
As these projects wind down over the summer, a smaller-scale resurfacing project along I-43 between the Oak Leaf Trail and Bender Road has started updating the final pieces between the previous projects, Sellers said.
This is the final segment of I-43 to be improved from north of downtown Milwaukee where the North-South project starts to Grafton, he said.
The project is scheduled to be completed in the fall.
As a result, the following closures are in place:
The improvements along this segment will resurface around 1.5 miles of roadway, conduct concrete spot repairs on all ramps within the Silver Spring Drive interchange, improve retaining walls and noise walls and improve drainage in the area.
Contact Claudia Levens at clevens@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @levensc13.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The end is in sight for the massive construction project on I-43. Here’s what to know
Reporting by Claudia Levens, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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