Construction is underway on campus this week for the westbound bus stops at 12th and 16th streets and Wisconsin Avenue for the Milwaukee County Transit System’s new East-West Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service. MCTS is fully funding and managing the project that will connect downtown Milwaukee to the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center in Wauwatosa.
The two MCTS stops on campus will be converted to new state-of-the-art platform stops, which will help improve pedestrian rights-of-way and campus aesthetics. Additionally, the stops will feature lane bump-outs that will improve pedestrian safety by helping to mitigate speeding on Wisconsin Avenue. Additional bump-outs will be installed on Wisconsin Avenue at 14th and 15th streets.
There will be some lane and pedestrian crosswalk closures at 12th and 16th streets as the Wisconsin Avenue work progresses — please pay attention to construction signage and plan for extra time if you travel these routes. A pedestrian route map is available online.
Construction is expected to begin for the eastbound stops at 12th and 16th streets in early-July. The on-campus portion of the MCTS project is scheduled for completion in mid-August.
The existing MCTS stop at 12th Street and Wisconsin Avenue will be converted to a state-of-the-art BRT platform stop.
About the MCTS BRT project
The nine-mile East-West BRT will better connect major employment, education and recreation destinations through downtown Milwaukee, Marquette, the Near West Side, Wauwatosa and the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center. BRT passengers will enjoy more efficient, higher frequency service through battery-electric buses, dedicated bus lanes, traffic signal priority, off-board fare collection, optimized stop locations, state-of-the-art platforms that allow for easy boarding, and other amenities.
According to MCTS, the East-West BRT will average more than 9,500 weekday riders by 2035 and increase overall transit ridership in the corridor by 17 percent. Ridership will be fueled by activity generators within the half-mile station area around the preferred route including:
- 9 colleges and universities, and 8 high schools
- 47,000 residents
- 120,000 jobs
- 100+ businesses with 250 or more employees
- 7 medical facilities
- 25 hotels
- Countless attractions including the county zoo, Miller Park, Milwaukee Bucks arena, art museum and Summerfest.
More information, including a set of frequently asked questions, is available on MCTS’ BRT project website.