Recent construction work at the I-94 interchange and Rawson Avenue in southern Milwaukee County required full daytime and nighttime closures of the freeway system as part of the ongoing I-94 North-South project. Many motorists were detoured onto the local street system, utilizing arterials such as STH 241 (27th Street), STH 38 (Howell Avenue), STH 100 (Ryan Road), Drexel Avenue and College Avenue. These traffic impacts required signal timing modifications at several traffic signals along the detour routes to improve detour traffic flow. R.A. Smith National worked with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to anticipate traffic problems at key intersections and made the necessary timing adjustments in advance of the closures. On a recent weekend freeway closure, staff monitored field conditions and made adjustments as traffic demands shifted throughout the duration of the closure. Additional overnight and weekend closures are anticipated throughout the summer. Drivers should stay tuned to local news and online resources such as 511wi.org for the latest roadway closure information.

R.A. Smith National’s engineering staff has been busy over the last several years on several projects that contributed to the recent opening of the new I-94 Interchange at Drexel Avenue and reconstructed Drexel Avenue in the City of Oak Creek.  Our transportation and municipal services divisions were pleased to be part of this major effort to spur new development in this area and along nearby arterials such as South 27th Street.  The new interchange is the first one added to the freeway system in Milwaukee County since it was originally built in the 1970s. 

Our traffic division assisted with traffic volume forecasting in the area of the interchange and played a key role in the design of both traffic signals at the I-94 ramps as part of our on-site contracts with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Our municipal services division provided design, ecological and environmental permitting services to the City of Oak Creek for the reconstruction of Drexel Avenue from S. 27th Street to S. 13th Street. That project involved the innovative design of a rammed aggregate pier system to serve as a road base reinforcement for a shallow embankment over a wetland.