Zoo Interchange

Zoo Interchange
Surface street panorama of the Zoo Interchange
Location
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Coordinates	43°01′39″N 88°02′04″W / 43.0275°N 88.034444°W / 43.0275; -88.034444
Roads at junction	I-41 / US 41 I-94 I-894 US 45
Construction
Type	Stack interchange
Opened	1963 (1963)
Maintained by	WisDOT

The Zoo Interchange is a freeway interchange on the west side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It forms the junction of Interstate 94 (I-94, East–West Freeway), I-894, I-41, US Highway 41 (US 41) and US 45 (Zoo Freeway). It is the busiest and one of the oldest interchanges in the state.^[1] It is nicknamed as such because of the Milwaukee County Zoo located on the northwest quadrant of the interchange. The control cities at the interchange are Downtown Milwaukee to the east, Chicago to the south, Madison to the west and Fond du Lac to the north.

Originally completed in 1963, the interchange was a major component in the freeway system being developed in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin and formed an important link with the Interstate Highway System. The design included exits on both the left and right sides of the roadways, and drivers exited depending which side their destination road was on. Owing to the dangers of this design and the deterioration of the interchange, a reconstruction was considered in the early 2000s. Plans set reconstruction in 2015, but it was advanced by Governor Jim Doyle to 2012, then delayed due to lack of available funding. Work finally began in 2014 with an expected completion in 2018. However, further budget issues delayed the completion (as of September 2018) until 2022.

The complexity and scale of the reconstruction project necessitated advanced methods of construction. It marked the first time that Wisconsin used drilled shaft foundations to build bridge supports and the first time that 3D computer modelling was used. In 2014 the interchange became the first place in the United States where orange pavement markings were tested.^[2]

The interchange reconstruction has sparked much controversy and political polarization. Opponents have criticized its extremely high $1.7 billion cost. It also continues the area trend of investing heavily in freeways while disinvesting in all other forms of transportation. This resulted in the Milwaukee Innercity Congregations Allied for Hope and the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin filing a lawsuit against the department of transportation in 2012. It was resolved in 2014 with the state agreeing to give additional aid to the public transit system.