MILWAUKEE — As temperatures slowly begin to rise, road construction season begins in the City of Milwaukee.
On Friday, the city revealed a wide range of road construction projects planned for 2025.
At a time when reckless driving remains a problem citywide, about 60 different projects slated for the summer will focus on “traffic calming.”
The goal is to deter reckless driving and make roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
One stretch of roadway slated for major upgrades is Lisbon Avenue, between 100th Street and Burleigh Road. This stretch of roadway has become notorious as a place where potholes and loose pavement abound. Crews can already be seen digging and setting up construction cones.
Alderwoman Sharlen Moore said she is well aware of the concerns city residents have when it comes to roadways that need improvements.
With planned bike lanes, improved pedestrian walkways and new “green infrastructure,” she and other city leaders hope it will make Lisbon Avenue, and other streets, more accessible to everyone.
“We have drivers. We have pedestrians, young people. We have our elders that are here wanting to have a safer Milwaukee. We get the calls, the emails; we get it all,” Moore said. “This is an opportunity to come together to say, 'You know what? We believe in safer streets, and believe in an opportunity for the community to ride on our streets safely.'”
Nearby businesses along Lisbon Avenue said they know customers and area-residents have been unhappy about the condition of the road for some time.
Jack Lepold owns a building at the corner of 84th Street and Lisbon Avenue. It houses Cinco Lokos Mexican Restaurant, as well as a shoe repair business.
Lepold said while he and nearby businesses aren’t looking forward to the construction phase itself, it will likely pay off in the end.
“The road construction in the long-run will be beneficial to the neighborhood. In the short-term, it is a giant problem. But, in the meantime, we will deal with it, because we are happy to have a new road coming in,” Lepold said.
Lepold said with increased bike access and pedestrian walkways, he feels customers will feel safer when traveling to the restaurant and other businesses along the corridor.
