A construction project that will close the South 35th Street and West National Avenue intersection to northbound drivers will now begin on Thursday, May 28.
At a press conference on May 20, Ald. JoCasta Zamarripa and Ald. Peter Burgelis announced that construction would begin on Tuesday, May 26, but the closure has been delayed by two days due to the Memorial Day holiday, according to Tiffany Shepherd, marketing and communications officer at the Department of Public Works.
The upcoming construction project will be led by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. While a part of the road will be closed, the 35th Street Viaduct will remain open.
At the press conference, Zamarripa said there was no communication between the Department of Transportation and the Common Council to help notify neighbors on the south side when the closure was initially planned.
Burgelis said he learned about the project when a constituent tagged him in a Facebook post about the closure.
“There are instances where I think they have not taken the time to properly educate neighbors, constituents, commuters,” Zamarripa said. “I would like to speak with [the Department of Transportation] leadership … I am very concerned about the latest limiting of access to 35th Street.”
Zamarripa said she will be meeting with Public Works and Milwaukee Water Works to discuss how people should navigate the south side amid the latest closure.
“It’s just become untenable,” Zamarripa said. “I can only imagine how the average Milwaukeean feels when they’re trying to navigate city streets, and they just don’t know what’s going to be accessible and what isn’t.”
Alyssa Salcedo covers Silver City, Layton Park and Burnham Park for the Journal Sentinel’s Neighborhood Dispatch. Contact her at asalcedo@usatodayco.com.
Neighborhood Dispatch reporting is supported by Zilber Family Foundation, Bader Philanthropies, Journal Foundation, Northwestern Mutual Foundation, Greater Milwaukee Foundation, and reader contributions to the Journal Sentinel Community-Funded Journalism Project. Journal Sentinel editors maintain full editorial control over all content. To support this work, visit jsonline.com/support. Checks can be addressed to Local Media Foundation (memo: “JS Community Journalism”) and mailed to P.O. Box 85015, Chicago, IL 60689.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Partial South 35th Street closure delayed to avoid Memorial Day
Reporting by Alyssa N. Salcedo, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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