The Marquette Interchange serves as the gateway to all of Wisconsin carrying more than 285,000 vehicles daily. Located in the heart of downtown Milwaukee, the interchange services Interstates 94, 43 and 794 and provides access and exit for numerous local arterials. As important as this interchange is to traffic flow and commerce, the infrastructure is over 30 years old and needs to be re-built. In Wisconsin's largest transportation projects in history, beginning in 2003, the Marquette will undergo a five-year major modernization effort to improve the safety, efficiency and reliability of the interchange. While efforts are being made to minimize traffic impacts during reconstruction, some lane, shoulder, and ramp closures will be necessary to complete the project in a timely and cost-effective manner. As a result, capacity during reconstruction will be reduced, which will impact travelers, trucking operators, local communities, public safety agencies, and others who regularly use the interchange. Traffic impacts are being minimized by creating a construction staging plan and traffic control plan that minimizes diversion off the freeway while balancing the need for a timely and cost-effective construction sequence. For example, the construction contract will include time constraints for long-term ramp closures, peak-hour lane closures will not be permitted, and other major downtown projects will be completed prior to the beginning of interchange construction. But perhaps more importantly, four additional special areas are being emphasized to help ease the strain on the local/regional transportation system: 1. Freeway Operations and Traffic Incident Management; 2. Public Information; 3. Transit and Demand Management; and, 4. Local Road Operations. This paper will focus on the initial preparatory freeway operations activities, with specific focus on Traffic Incident Management (TIM).
Abstract