STH 100 project turns potential zoo into walk in the park

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It was the construction of a key arterial roadway that helped divert traffic so the massive Zoo Interchange project could get up and running.

But the upgrade of the roadway, Highway 100, was not part of the original plan.

The $36 million STH 100 project was the first major construction undertaken in connection with the new Zoo Interchange, a junction of Interstate 94, Interstate 894 and Highway 45 in western Milwaukee County. The interchange is the oldest and busiest in the state.

Reconstruction began in 2013 and is expected to be complete in 2018.

In connection with the project, the construction of STH 100 was a critical first step, providing a key alternate route. STH 100 is a local artery that runs parallel to Highway 45. The project added vehicle capacity and improved signal intersections that were necessary to accommodate local traffic that has been rerouted as a result of the new interchange configuration.

The project design incorporated several unique aspects, including 11-foot lanes to reduce right-of-way costs and impacts, 5-foot-wide bike lanes, the extension of the Union-Pacific Railroad tunnel beneath the major intersection at Bluemound Road, relocation of a stream at the Milwaukee County Research Park, adaptive signal technology, streetscaping, way-finding and landscaping.

Work on the roadway required significant coordination of more than two dozen utility companies, with compensation agreements totaling nearly $1.2 million.

“A great deal of credit for the success of the project was due to the involvement of the project stakeholders during both design and construction,” said Wafa Elqaq, design supervisor for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. “Design coordination … produce[d] a more aesthetic corridor.”

During construction, daily coordination between the project team and businesses, utilities, fire and police, the Milwaukee County Zoo, Wheaton Franciscan Hospital and the Milwaukee County Research Park was critical in the effort to maintain traffic and access while allowing the contractors to complete the fast-paced and complex project on time and on budget.

But despite its pivotal role, the STH 100 project was not part of the initial alternative routes presented during the Zoo Interchange’s first public hearings in 2009. It was only included in 2011 as a reduced-impact alternative, whereby three local arteries would be upgraded to accommodate rerouted traffic: STH 100, Watertown Plank Road, and 84th Street/Glenview Avenue.

Preliminary engineering, real estate acquisition and right-of-way plats began in the summer of 2011. Fifty-six real estate parcels were acquired in addition to 12 utility parcels. One business was moved, and the right of way was established by the end of 2012.

A key motto of the team working on the project was to keep the corridor “open for business.” In an effort to ensure completion within an aggressive one-year timeframe, the project specification allowed for a 12-day full closure of the intersection of Bluemound Road for work on the UPRR tunnel extension and a five-day full closure of the intersection at Watertown Plank Road.

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