A demolished bridge is not going to keep College of Arts & Sciences junior Bridget Finn from following her normal routine.

Finn, who lives on North 17th Street, walked back from the Rec Plex in Straz Tower on Wednesday over the Wells Street bridge, one of the alternate routes for students who live east of the recently demolished Wisconsin Avenue bridge.

The other alternate route is on Michigan Street/Tory Hill.

Finn said she enjoys going to the Rec Plex instead of the Rec Center on North 16th Street, even though the walk is "a little inconvenient."

The detour route "is good exercise," she said.

For most students accustomed to using the Wisconsin Avenue bridge, its demolition has been inconvenient, but not terribly so.

College of Health Sciences sophomore Scott Martin also took the Wells Street route on Wednesday after leaving his residence in Straz Tower.

"It's a real inconvenience," said Martin, who estimated it now takes four or five extra minutes to get to campus. "The detours are annoying, but they're not terrible to live with."

Martin said if next year's housing decision for him came down to living near Straz Tower or on the other side of campus, the absence of the Wisconsin Avenue bridge would be a "big factor."

Though the loss of the bridge is inconvenient, Martin said the university "seemed like they were really trying to help students adjust to what's going on."

Martin said he hopes construction will remain on schedule so the bridge can reopen by December of this year as planned.

As of Wednesday, Rick Arcuri, associate dean for administration of residence life, said there have been no direct phone calls from students complaining about the absence of the bridge.

Arcuri associated the lack of calls to "educating people that the bridge would be gone when the students returned" and the fact that his office has only been open for a few days, since students have returned to campus.

Arcuri's office is monitoring both detours students take and is making sure students can use the detours with as little disruption as possible. His office also welcomes any feedback, he said.

Even students who do not live east of the bridge are affected by its demolition.

Natalie Ferbezar, a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences, loved to run down Wisconsin Avenue to the river.

With the absence of the bridge, Ferbezar said it will affect her in more ways than finding a new running route.

"I feel Marquette being on Wisconsin Avenue, you feel really connected to the city of Milwaukee," she said. With the bridge being gone, "I feel like that connection is gone."

Ferbezar said running down Wells Street isn't as comforting, with fewer lights and scenery, but she will "bite the bullet."

"Everyone should remember (that) what happens at Marquette affects everyone in different ways," she said.,”James A. Molnar”

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