Thirty-seven years after the original Marquette Interchange was completed, the Interchange is receiving what Wisconsin Department of Transportation officials say is a much-needed facelift.

The original Interchange featured a lane structure and left-handed ramps that "seemed like a good idea at the time," according to Brian Manthey, communications officer for the WisDOT's Interchange project.

"Structurally, (the interchange) was getting to the end of its useful life," Manthey said.

He said the Interchange, over which about 300,000 vehicles travel each day, needed to be updated to handle the high volume of traffic and to address longtime safety issues, particularly those related to left-hand exit ramps.

An average of three crashes per day occurred on the Interchange before construction on the project began last year, Manthey said.

A redesigned layout of entrance and exit ramps meant the bridges over Interstate Highway 43 needed to be rebuilt, according to Manthey.

Shortly after Marquette students leave for winter break, the Wisconsin Avenue bridge over I-43 will be torn down.

In late 2004 and earlier this year, the Wells and State street bridges were demolished and rebuilt in what Manthey said was a deliberately staggered timeframe to ensure alternate routes were always available.

Those bridges and Clybourn Street will all be available to accommodate traffic to and from downtown Milwaukee, he said.

The demolition of the Wisconsin Avenue bridge will be complete before the start of the 2006 spring semester barring severe weather conditions, according to Manthey.

The new bridge, which will be open by October 2006, will be part of "a major signalized intersection" at 11th Street and Wisconsin Avenue that includes access to I-43 and Interstate highway 94.

He said keeping open lines of communication with the university has been as important part of the project, and called the university "a great partner" in the process.

"We don't want to have any surprises to anyone in the community," he said.

Toby Peters, associate vice president in the Office of Administration, said Marquette has been working with WisDOT on the project for more than five years.

"We had been in consultation at least three years" before construction began, he said.

Lori Bysong, a Marquette communications specialist for the Interchange project, said WisDOT has been "very, very receptive" to the university's needs.

She said Marquette representatives have separate meetings with the project's public information team and the project's steering committee, each of which meets every two weeks.

Issues related to move-in and move-out dates, finals week and pedestrian safety have all been raised, she said.

Clybourn Street will become the primary option for students crossing I-43, according to Bysong. She said Marquette has worked with WisDOT to ensure that current construction on Clybourn will be completed in time.

She said members of Marquette's Interchange team have tested the new route themselves by timing the walk from Straz Tower to campus using both Clybourn and the Wisconsin Avenue bridge, and that the Clybourn route takes only a minute longer.

While campus "is going to be different," after the demolition of the Wisconsin Avenue bridge, Bysong said the university "does not see (the demolition) being tremendously disruptive."

Manthey said the Interchange project is scheduled to be completed in 2008 and will cost a total of $810 million.