MILWAUKEE — Those who plan to drive around Milwaukee County this weekend need to be aware of a major interstate closure that will last for days.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) will close westbound I-894 between the Mitchell and Hale Interchange on Friday night at 11 p.m. That closure will last until Monday, Sept. 23 at 5:30 a.m.
Liz Wells is a construction project leader for WisDOT. She said this weekend’s closure is part of regularly scheduled maintenance for the interstate.
“This is to service the pavement that we are doing, so we are taking off two inches of pavement and we are putting back on two new inches of pavement,” Wells said.
She said it’s important the project gets done before the winter months, so the concrete sets properly. She said, this weekend, drivers should be sure to slow down and keep their eyes on the road.
“Make sure you pay attention to traffic signs [and] detour signs. The primary detour route is to use Layton. However, we do suggest everyone to use 94 in order to get around,” Wells said.
Jeff Feist is the manager of Kopp’s Custard in Greenfield. He said the closure won’t keep his customers away this weekend.
“All summer, they’ve been working on the freeway; they’ve been taking bridges down non-stop and it’s been a traffic jam on 894 just north of us here for the last couple of years and we really haven’t seen any change in sales,” Feist said.
Feist explained that both employees and customers have gotten used to using side roads, such as Layton Avenue, which runs parallel to the freeway.
“It’s certainly a corridor for people who are traveling through — through Milwaukee County getting from Chicago to Madison or up North — but I don’t think it really affects any of the businesses that strongly,” Feist said.
While the weekend freeway closure takes place this weekend, Feist said he’ll be serving a full house at Kopp’s.
“It’s a summer tradition here in Wisconsin to go out for custard when the weather is nice, and if that is your plan, there are certainly many options to get here,” he said.
Next weekend, WisDOT said it will close Eastbound I-894 from the Hale to the Mitchell Interchange, pending weather conditions, to complete the project.