The closure of South 35th Street and West National Avenue for northbound drivers will now begin Thursday, May 28, two days later than city leaders first said. The shift pushes the start past Memorial Day, but the roadwork will still take part of one of Milwaukee’s busiest south side intersections out of service for drivers heading north.
That change matters now because commuters and neighbors were told on May 20 to expect construction to begin Tuesday, May 26, and the timetable has already moved once. The project is being led by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, and the 35th Street Viaduct will remain open while the closure is in place, leaving drivers with a narrower set of options at a key crossing.
Ald. JoCasta Zamarripa and Ald. Peter Burgelis announced the original schedule on May 20, but Zamarripa said the start was delayed by two days to avoid the Memorial Day holiday. For people trying to plan a route through the area, the only firm date now is Thursday, May 28. No end date has been set publicly.
What has drawn the sharpest criticism is how the plan reached the Common Council. Zamarripa said there was no communication between the Department of Transportation and the council when the closure was initially planned, and she said that left neighbors on the south side without a clear warning. She said she wants to speak with department leadership and that she is very concerned about the latest limiting of access to 35th Street.
Burgelis said he learned about the project only after a constituent tagged him in a Facebook post about the closure, a detail that underscores how quickly the disruption surfaced for local leaders. Zamarripa said she will meet with Public Works and Milwaukee Water Works to discuss how people should navigate the south side once the work begins. Her frustration was blunt: she said officials have not always taken the time to properly educate neighbors, constituents and commuters, and added that the situation has become untenable.
For drivers, the immediate answer is simple: northbound access at South 35th Street and West National Avenue goes down on May 28, while the 35th Street Viaduct stays open. What remains unknown is how long Milwaukee’s next rush hour headache will last.
