Hoan Bridge, I-794 construction project causes confusion

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Monday was day one of a two-year construction project that will affect thousands of drivers. The project involves repairs to I-794 as well as Milwaukee’s Hoan Bridge.

Commuters got their first taste of the delays and detours as the Lakefront exit ramp and the on-ramp to the southbound Hoan Bridge were shut down around 5 am Monday morning. The result was some confused drivers. Despite all the signs, orange barrels, and warnings put out by the DOT and police, not all drivers heading to work got the memo. Some were hesitant the closer they got to the ramps, and some even swerved into and out of traffic at the last minute, narrowly avoiding collision with either another car or one of the barricades.

Discovery World President and CEO Joel Brennan said he's not worried about drivers heading their way, despite the fact that many people use the Lakefront Exit to get to the building.

“It's maybe one or two more turns. it's not something that`s going to be too inconvenient for people,” said Joel Brennan, President/CEO of Discovery World.

Brennan explained that during the week it won’t be too bad --  it's mostly school groups that use the facility, and so far they've all arrived on time. But come the weekend, particularly the weekend of November 9th, it could be a different story.

“This coming weekend coincidentally we have our one free day of the year,” said Brennan, “We expect not only a couple thousand, we expect 3,000 or 4,000 patrons to come down here."

Brennan says that makes it all the more important to keep the lines of communication open to make these next two years of construction as smooth as possible.

“We've already posted on our website, on discoveryworld.org, a couple of the alternate routes people might take. We’re also coordinating with the city the county and the state,” Brennan explained.

This construction project is expected to be complete in December 2015.