Drivers plan ahead: Ramp in Zoo Interchange to be shut down for 31 hours this weekend

MILWAUKEE -- Any who regularly drives through the Zoo Interchange in Milwaukee County will want to be aware of a 31-hour closure that begins Friday night, August 19th -- and lasts through Sunday morning, August 21st.

"It's a tough operation that does take time," said Mark Clipstein, Wisconsin Department of Transportation project manager.

Mark Clipstein

The work will include taking the tub girders, the substructure of the new ramp and move four of them into place.

"They're going to be lifted up and then they're going to be air spliced into the air until they can hit the next pier cap. We're going up and over everything now, we have real tall piers and these tub girders go over the existing system ramps and because of that we cannot place these over live traffic so we do need to take the closure to do that," said Clipstein.

The work will require eastbound I-94 to be completely shut down at WIS 100 along with the system ramps from I-894 and I-41/US 45 to I-94 westbound being closed. The ramp closures will begin at 10:00 p.m. with I-94 being shut down at 11:00 p.m.

Traffic is being encouraged to use Greenfield Avenue to detour around the work zone.

"They don't take you way out of the way. If you're coming from a great distance and you want to take a different route there's a lot of routes but if you're on I-94 those are the good recommended routes," said Clipstein.

If conditions allow, the work could be completed in less than the 31 hours planned for the work. Once the last girder is safely in place, the freeway and ramps will reopen.

Additional information on the Zoo Interchange project can be found by CLICKING HERE.