The Wi/DOT recently announced that three bridges in the Zoo Interchange have reached their limits, and due to the dire conditions, the Wi/DOT is going to re-build portions of the bridges as temporary replacements until the project has full funding.
Inspectors say the current structures are not projected to last past 2012 because of deteriorating conditions and the high volume of traffic each day around the interchange. The DOT has already imposed load limits for trucks passing over the structures and recent inspections revealed severe cracks in the concrete girders, corrosion weakening the steel reinforcing bars and concrete falling from the bridges.
The new temporary bridges that will be built will be torn out and re-replaced during reconstruction of the entire interchange, however that is not projected to begin until between 2014 and 2016.
The replacement bridges are the span that carries roughly 42,300 vehicles a day northbound through the interchange on I-894/Highway 45. One ramp carries roughly 25,600 vehicles a day from southbound Highway 45 to eastbound I-94, and the another ramp carries roughly 25,100 vehicles a day from northbound I-894/Highway 45 to westbound I-94.
The full interchange is considered the busiest in the state of Wisconsin, and serves as a key corridor for the movement of goods and raw materials. Nearly 350,000 vehicles pass through the interchange each day. The project cost for the temporary replacement project is nearly $22 million.
Reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange is one of three major projects planned as part of a 30-year effort to rebuild the aging freeways in the Milwaukee area. The total price was estimated to be $6 billion, according to a report prepared by the Southeast Wisconsin Regional Plan Commission.
To read more about this project, click here for an aritcle from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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