Winnebago Street Roundabout

Landscape Architecture, Transportation | Wisconsin | Back

Challenge

For many years, the north end of downtown Milwaukee was bordered by the Park East Freeway spur, a 1-mile six-lane divided freeway originally intended to connect to a larger system that was never constructed.

The Park East Freeway spur was demolished in 2003 to make room for development, leaving several strangely aligned intersections in need of reconstruction. One of these was the intersection of Winnebago Street, Juneau Avenue, and North 7th Street, which bordered the newly vacated land and the up-and-coming Brewery District, a popular dining, entertainment, and residential complex.

Solution

Due to the non-standard angles at this intersection, as well as connections to future development still to be determined, our team suggested a roundabout at the intersection. The City of Milwaukee and WisDOT were aligned with our suggestion to bring the first roundabout to the downtown Milwaukee area.

Preliminary analysis justified a multi-lane roundabout, and this was reflected in the final design, which also included storm sewers and landscaping. This project was fast-tracked for both design and construction thanks to funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Services Provided

  • Planning
  • Survey
  • Municipal design
  • Roundabout design
  • Landscape architecture
  • Plantings
  • Hardscapes
  • Decorative pavements
  • Sustainability

Industries Covered

  • Transportation
  • Landscape Architecture

Results

Thorough planning with an emphasis on landscape architecture and aesthetics aided public acceptance of the roundabout, which was the first-ever in the City of Milwaukee. News crews and the local media were on hand for the opening of the roundabout.

Now, almost 10 years later, the roundabout is functioning as intended. To the south, the Brewery District continues to thrive, while to the north, construction of the Milwaukee Bucks practice facility warranted adding five connections to the roundabout. The roundabout design made integrating these connections much easier than if the intersection was not a roundabout. Our foresight saved the need to redesign the intersection as the surrounding area continues to develop.