Marquette Interchange

The Marquette Interchange is the linchpin of the Milwaukee area freeway system. It is the heart of Wisconsin’s transportation system and the backbone for distributing people and commerce throughout the state. It is estimated that 50 percent of the state’s residents and 60 percent of its major industries use the Milwaukee area freeways. Wisconsin’s major highways, Interstates 43 and 94, allow traffic from Chicago, Green Bay, and Madison to converge at the Marquette Interchange in downtown Milwaukee. The Marquette Interchange serves 300,000 vehicles per day.[1] Its western limits are on Interstate 94 at 27^th street. Its southern limits are on Interstate 43 and Interstate 94 at the Burnham canal next to National Avenue. The eastern limits are on Interstate 794 at 5^th Street, and the northern limits are on Interstate 43 at North Avenue.[2]

The Marquette Interchange was proposed in 1952 and opened to traffic in 1968.[3] At the start of Milwaukee’s freeway-building movement in 1952, there was great public support for freeways, but in the 1960s criticism increased. The total cost of construction was $30 million.[4] The original Marquette Interchange lasted for forty years. The reconstruction of the Marquette Interchange began in January 2004 and was completed in August of 2008, at an approximate cost of $800 million.[5]