With the collapse of Minneapolis' I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River in August, questions have arisen about bridges in the Milwaukee metro area.,”Students returning to campus last week passed through the ongoing reconstruction of the Marquette Interchange, the maze of roads, bridges, exits and tunnels near campus.

With the collapse of Minneapolis' I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River in August, questions have arisen about bridges in the Milwaukee metro area.

Barbara Mikolajczyk, WisDOT spokeswoman for the Marquette Interchange Project, said officials made sure the Marquette Interchange bridges were safe after the Hoan Bridge on I-794 buckled during the morning commute on Dec. 13, 2000.

"When the Hoan Bridge failed, we actually learned quite a bit from that in terms of the design of structure at the Marquette Interchange," Mikolajczyk said. "We're not beefing up since Minnesota because we've already beefed up."

The $810 million project is the largest highway construction project in state history. Early talks began at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation in 1992 to replace the original structure first completed in 1968, according to Mikolajczyk.

Work continued this summer, creating the layers of the interchange. At the height of this summer's construction, 300 to 400 people worked on the project at one time, Mikolajczyk said.

Most pile driving is complete. Steel girders have been going up the past three to four months and that phase is expected to be finished in mid-to-late October, she said.

"But the biggest change students and parents will see is more efficient ramps," Mikolajczyk said. "Two-lane ramps will be in almost every direction."

All exits from the left side are being eliminated, she said.

People may also notice the new colors of the interchange: blue and gold.

The project is expected to be completed by November 2008 depending on the weather, Mikolajczyk said.

By the time the project is finished, a new exit on north I-43 at 10th and Michigan Streets will open near campus. A new entrance to south I-43/east I-94 at 11th Street and Wisconsin Avenue will open next year.

Mikolajczyk said commuters have given positive comments on the reconstruction to the DOT. She said travel times have only increased by three to four minutes through the interchange.

That's not to say all commuters are finding it easy to navigate through the detours.

Returning student Kelly Lerash, a sophomore in the College of Communication, said she and her parents are more familiar with the interchange this year but still encountered problems.

Last year "we went around in circles a couple of times, but we found it," Lerash said.

This year, the Denver residents, originally from the western suburbs of Chicago, used a GPS to get them to campus.

"Even the GPS was lost," Lerash's mom, Julie, said.

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