Construction near Summerfest on Lincoln Memorial Drive will pause Thursday, June 18, allowing traffic lanes to reopen for the music festival.
The city is making a series of safety improvements to Lincoln Memorial Drive and intersecting Michigan Street near Henry Maier Festival Park, Discovery World and the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Southbound traffic on Lincoln Memorial Drive near Michigan Street has been directed to the northbound lane and the stretch reduced from two lanes to one lane in each direction.
Construction on that stretch will finish by the time Summerfest kicks off June 18, according to Department of Public Works Marketing and Communications Officer Tiffany Shepherd. Lanes on Lincoln Memorial Drive will reopen permanently even as work on other streets is set to resume in early July.
“While the project is not completed, the lanes on Lincoln Memorial Drive will stay open after Summerfest,” Shepherd said in an email to the Journal Sentinel, though “there may be small intermitted closures due to sidewalk work.”
The street improvements aim to boost safety near the music festival and other lakefront attractions, Shepherd said.
Summerfest 2026 runs June 18 to 20, June 25 to 27 and July 2 to 4.
Safety improvements include lane reductions, protections for bikes
To slow traffic, Michigan Street west of Lincoln Memorial Drive narrowed from four to three lanes. Right-turn only lanes at the intersection of Michigan Street and Lincoln Memorial Drive were removed.
These changes improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers, City Engineer Kevin Muhs previously told the Journal Sentinel.
Michigan Street also added protected bike lanes and wider sidewalks. A protected median strip was built on Lincoln Memorial Drive near Michigan Street to provide a safe stop for pedestrians crossing the road.
The improvements account for potential plans to change or remove the aging Interstate 794 nearby, Shepherd said.
When will construction be finished?
Construction on the project’s final stages will resume in early July and likely finish by the end of 2026, Shepherd said.
These include reconstruction of Michigan Street between Lincoln Memorial and Art Museum drives, and Art Museum Drive between Michigan and Clybourn streets. Access to nearby Discovery World parking will be maintained.
A stretch of Cass Street from Michigan Street to Wisconsin Avenue will close in late August for asphalt and ramp work.
Francesca Pica can be reached at fpica@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Traffic lanes on Lincoln Memorial Drive to reopen for Summerfest
Reporting by Francesca Pica, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Francesca Pica, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
