Construction on the north leg of the Marquette Interchange began Monday, closing on-ramps to westbound Interstate 94 and southbound I-43.

The southbound I-43 entrance from westbound State Street closed Monday morning, and the northbound off-ramp at the tunnel on West Kilbourn Avenue closes today.

Bridges will be taken out as the project continues, particularly those crossing I-43, according to David Nguyen, project manager for the Marquette Interchange Team with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

The overpass over I-43 extending from West Winnebago and West Vliet streets will close Oct. 10.

Construction of the north leg should be done in two years, he said.

"They'll work on some preparatory work in the upcoming months and throughout the winter, and the majority will take place in 2005-06," Nguyen said. "That's when you'll see the impact on freeway traffic."

Traffic slowdowns due to construction have not been a problem yet for those commuting to and from Marquette, according to Toby Peters, assistant vice president in the Office of Administration.

"It's inevitable that as the project progresses there could be problems," Peters said. "It'll be just like when you're driving and there's an accident and a lane gets closed."

The bridges will have to be removed and replaced to accommodate the new freeway, according to Nguyen. He was unsure when each particular bridge would be taken down, but said their reconstruction would happen in shifts.

"We can't just take all of them out at the same time because people still need to cross," Nguyen said.

Some of the people who need to cross or use freeway ramps include students who commute to Marquette daily.

Cathy Stout, sophomore commuter student in the College of Health Sciences, drives to Marquette from her home in Pewaukee. She said commuting has not been difficult, but some delays have led her to avoid the freeway on her way to school.

"In the morning because the traffic is bad I will not stay on the freeway," she said. She said she often takes Bluemound Road to avoid the construction and traffic slowdowns.

"You have to pay attention to which exits are closed each day," Stout said.

The exits closed due to construction have been confusing in the past, sometimes causing her to get off on 26th Street and other times 35th Street, she said.

To keep the Marquette community informed of exit closings and other changes, Peters said the university has been directly involved with the state throughout the entire interchange reconstruction process.

"One of the things that we discovered is that as long as people know about the construction they can manage around it, so communication is going to be critical for us," he said.

Work on the north leg is the second phase of the project, and the first phase has yet to be completed. Nguyen said the first phase, called the Clybourn Project, is mostly preparatory work and should conclude Dec. 7.

Bridges and streets closed for the project include North 11th Street between West Wisconsin Avenue and Tory Hill, North 13th Street at the I-94 underpass, the North 16th Street bridge over I-94 and West Clybourn Street/Tory Hill from 13th Street to North Eighth Street.

Peters said the Clybourn Project did not affect the university as much as the north leg will.

"This north leg project is really our first test," he said.

Marquette is working with the state to minimize effects of local construction, such as beginning heavy construction over fall break when many students will be away from campus, Peters said.

Peters is optimistic such measures will keep students and faculty from being too disturbed by the construction.

"It's our hope that people will get used to the fact that in the distance there will be some construction noise once and awhile," he said.

The north leg portion of the interchange was budgeted for a little over $100 million, according to Nguyen. Work will begin on the core, or actual freeway in November 2005, the west leg in February 2005 and the south leg in September 2005.

The core will take about three years to complete, and will be constructed in conjunction with the various other legs, Nguyen said.

According to Nguyen, the Interchange work should be finished by 2008.