Local shop owners are concerned that the demolition of the Wisconsin Avenue bridge next month will negatively affect their businesses.
Denver Grayson, general manager of the Domino's Pizza, 641 N. 7th Street, said most of his business comes from Marquette and residences in the western part of the city. He is concerned the bridge will result in a decrease of cars that pass by the business.
"I have not estimated a major loss of funds, but visibility is going to be an issue," Grayson said. "When the bridge is demolished, people will take different routes."
P.M. Patel, owner of the Quizno's Sub at 700 W. Wisconsin Ave., is worried he too will lose business from Marquette once the bridge is demolished.
"Most of the Marquette students will not come," Patel said. "They will go down Wells and will not see my restaurant."
Patel said he is also worried that construction vehicles and trucks will make parking near his restaurant difficult.
Paula Kiely, manager of central library services for the Milwaukee Public Library, said work on the Marquette Interchange project has led to a decrease in patronage and book circulation.
The demolition "will make the situation a little worse," Kiely said. "But we're thankful that the Wells Street bridge and other bridges are open."
There has been a general concern about traveling downtown and this has negatively impacted the library, according to Kiely. However, she said the library has done its best to make sure people know that it's open.
Although half a dozen bus routes cross the Wisconsin Avenue bridge, the Milwaukee County Transit System is not worried about a loss of ridership, according to Joe Caruso, marketing director for MCTS.
"We have worked very closely with the engineers on this project and they have kept us up to date on every aspect," Caruso said. "They have been on schedule, which has allowed us to anticipate when the bridge would come down and so we can plan bus route detours that will take the least amount of time out of our riders' schedules."
Caruso said MCTS has also worked with city traffic engineers to make smooth transitions throughout the Interchange project.
"We're used to this with the other bridges coming down," Caruso said. "This does affect the most bus routes, passengers and Marquette students, but they're not cut off."
Buses will travel via 12th and Wells streets and return to Wisconsin Avenue on 8th and 10th streets, Caruso said. Temporary bus stops will be set up along that route.
MCTS anticipates the detours will go into effect in January, Caruso said.
Brandon Jensen, legislative director for the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 998, said he is not sure at this point whether or not the bridge demolition will lead to an increase or decrease in ridership.
"This could go either way. People might just want to park and take the bus, or not bother with the bus detours and take their cars," he said.
New bus schedules were released this week. According to Jensen, the new schedules change all downtown Sunday routes.
"This does have quite a bit of an effect on the schedules," Jensen said.