The Zoo Interchange is a freeway interchange on the west side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It forms the junction of Interstate 94 (I-94, East–West Freeway), I-894, I-41, US Highway 41 (US 41) and US 45 (Zoo Freeway). It is the busiest and one of the oldest interchanges in the state.[1] It is nicknamed as such because of the Milwaukee County Zoo located on the northwest quadrant of the interchange. The control cities at the interchange are Downtown Milwaukee to the east, Chicago to the south, Madison to the west and Fond du Lac to the north.
Originally completed in 1963, the interchange was a major component in the freeway system being developed in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin and formed an important link with the Interstate Highway System. The design included exits on both the left and right sides of the roadways, and drivers exited depending which side their destination road was on. Owing to the dangers of this design and the deterioration of the interchange, a reconstruction was considered in the early 2000s. Plans set reconstruction in 2015, but it was advanced by Governor Jim Doyle to 2012, then delayed due to lack of available funding. Work finally began in 2014 with an expected completion in 2018. However, further budget issues delayed the completion (as of September 2018) until 2022.
The complexity and scale of the reconstruction project necessitated advanced methods of construction. It marked the first time that Wisconsin used drilled shaft foundations to build bridge supports and the first time that 3D computer modelling was used. In 2014 the interchange became the first place in the United States where orange pavement markings were tested.[2]
The interchange reconstruction has sparked much controversy and political polarization. Opponents have criticized its extremely high $1.7 billion cost. It also continues the area trend of investing heavily in freeways while disinvesting in all other forms of transportation. This resulted in the Milwaukee Innercity Congregations Allied for Hope and the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin filing a lawsuit against the department of transportation in 2012. It was resolved in 2014 with the state agreeing to give additional aid to the public transit system.
^Sandler, Larry; Held, Tom (March 9, 2011). "Revisions delay I-94 widening | Zoo Interchange plans scaled back; property displacements reduced". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 01. Retrieved December 2, 2023 – via NewsBank.
^Cite error: The named reference Working was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
The ZooInterchange is a freeway interchange on the west side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It forms the junction of Interstate 94 (I-94, East–West...
downtown Milwaukee, connecting with I-94 at the ZooInterchange west of downtown and the Mitchell Interchange south of downtown. The route runs concurrently...
Kennedy Interchange (I-64/I-65/I-71) in Louisville, Kentucky; the Marquette Interchange (I-94/I-43/I-794) and the $1.8 billion ZooInterchange both in...
The ZooInterchange is located in western Milwaukee near the Milwaukee Zoo. It connects the East–West Freeway and the Zoo Freeway. The interchange was...
through the interchange. This had changed when I-41 was designated in the Milwaukee area. US 41 now follows I-41 through the ZooInterchange instead. The...
Louis, Missouri; The Marquette Interchange between I-794, I-94, and I-43 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and The ZooInterchange between I-894, I-94, I-41, and...
Zoo Junction is a junction on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the Northeast Corridor meets the Keystone Corridor, previously...
I-43), and turns north to run concurrently as the Zoo Freeway with I-894 and US 45 to the ZooInterchange, with the US 45 concurrency continuing until the...
vacationers can find a multitude of water parks, camping, amusement parks, zoos, river excursions, as well as lodging and shopping. Further southeast, I-94...
of the ZooInterchange to the southeast of the zoo property by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. This is an exhibit near the zoo's Main Entrance...
west and south sides of the city from the ZooInterchange to the Mitchell Interchange. I-894 is part of the Zoo Freeway and the Airport Freeway. I-794 extends...
north/US 45 north (Zoo Freeway) heads toward Madison and Fond du Lac although those control cities are not signed in the interchange on I-894 itself. US...
reconstruction for the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Milwaukee ZooInterchange for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, and the Poplar Street...
lawsuit against the Department of Transportation claiming that the ZooInterchange reconstruction project was discriminatory in that it only benefitted...
station (German: Bahnhof Berlin Zoologischer Garten, colloquially Bahnhof Zoo, German: [ˈbaːnˌhoːf ˈt͡soː] ) is a railway station in Berlin, Germany. It...
Hills Zoo is a medium-sized zoo near Salina, Kansas. It is located in rural Saline County, 6.0 miles (9.7 km) west of the I-70 and I-135 interchange, and...
The Oregon Zoo, originally the Portland Zoo and later the Washington Park Zoo, is a zoo located in Washington Park, Portland, Oregon, approximately 2 miles...
history. It is the second busiest freeway interchange in the State of Wisconsin behind the ZooInterchange. Neighborhoods of Milwaukee "USA: Milwaukee...
and has three unnumbered interchanges between its junction with I-26 and its terminus at Gadsden Street. The Riverbanks Zoo is a major attraction on I-126...
the downtown area of the city it serves (see also: Marquette Interchange, and ZooInterchange). West Beltline Highway – U.S. Route 12/U.S. Route 18 (Madison)...
the formation of the Isthmus of Panama as part of the Great American Interchange. Tapirs were formerly present across North America, but became extinct...
Wiktionary, the free dictionary. SAMI, Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange, a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft Saudi Arabian Military...
American Biotic Interchange (commonly abbreviated as GABI), also known as the Great American Interchange and the Great American Faunal Interchange, was an important...
part of reconstructing of the ZooInterchange. In 2019, a connection to Wisconsin Highway 100 near the Milwaukee County Zoo was added. In 2020, the trail...
Global Information
I-41 / US 41
I-94
I-894
US 45