Huge delays on I-794 Thursday
MILWAUKEE - Drivers heading into downtown MIlwaukee on I-794 found massive delays Thursday morning.
The Wisconsin DOT says that backups stretched as long as five miles during the 8:00 a.m. hour.
Drivers were estimated to be traveling at 15 miles per hour.
Crews closed one lane of I-94 for construction from near the Marquette Interchange to 37th Streets, leading to the backups.
They are adding an auxiliary lane.
"Depending on what time you came through, it was anywhere from a 10 to 12 minute delay to some really substantial delays that almost backed up to five miles," said Michael Pyritz.
It took drivers going from the Marquette Interchange to 35th Street about 12 minutes.
Many drivers are also using I-794 as an alternate route for I-43/94 due to bridge reconstruction causing delays there.
The DOT says that if you can't handle the traffic backups, avoid the freeway.
But if you can tolerate, there is good news.
"We're hopeful that when we get the third lane re-opened at the end of March, the substantial delays we are seeing will diminish," said Pyritz.
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