'Give yourself more time:' Road closures near Pfister in Milwaukee last until Thursday afternoon
MILWAUKEE -- Anytime a president visits Milwaukee, traffic is impacted, and on Wednesday, June 27, the expected arrival of President Donald Trump, combined with the first night of Summerfest, the Big Bang Fireworks show and streetcar construction created a downtown driving dilemma.
Roughly six blocks near the Pfister Hotel were shut down beginning Wednesday morning, meaning the route to Summerfest took a slightly different path for most.
Taylor Riemer
On a day when thousands were expected to take part in the first day and night of the world's largest music festival, Taylor Riemer said she was hopeful she wouldn't miss a beat getting there.
"I'm hoping, like, only like 15 minutes, but it's probably going to be longer than that," said Riemer.
FOX6 News found a long line at a Park and Ride lot in Wauwatosa -- appearing to show many opted to take advantage of the Milwaukee County Transit System's Summerfest Shuttle. There was hope it would help avoid traffic headaches as passengers inched closer to the lakefront.
"Give yourself a little bit more time. It's probably going to take five minutes longer," said Brendan Conway, MCTS spokesman.
Conway said MCTS had to make last-minute adjustments to routes and schedules because of Wednesday night's presidential visit.
"If you get on the Summerfest Shuttle -- get on and it will go down Wisconsin Avenue and do the detour on Juneau Avenue and it will drop you off," said Conway.
The streets surrounding the Pfister Hotel will be blocked off until Thursday afternoon.
Conrad Washington has a room at the hotel next door.
"The Uber driver warned us that we may have to go through a checkpoint, but thankfully, we were just dropped off right here," said Washington.
When it comes to the expected gridlock on surrounding streets, at Jefferson and Wells in the middle of rush hour, it was pretty quiet, but Wednesday night, traffic troubles were expected, with the Hoan Bridge also being shut down for about two-and-a-half hours during the Big Bang Fireworks show.
Many said they were leaning on friends for advice on how to get home.
"I listened to the news people. I seriously do. FOX6 is the great news," said Ashley Stone.
President Trump is expected to take part in a GOP fundraiser in Milwaukee Thursday morning before heading to the Foxconn groundbreaking in Mount Pleasant.
Construction work at Foxconn site, Mount Pleasant