After years of delay tied to construction timelines for The Couture, construction of the lakefront line of The Hop, the downtown Milwaukee streetcar, has resumed. Contractors could be seen Monday, working in the 800 block of East Michigan Street in the shadows of the rising apartment tower, as they prepared to lay parts of the
After years of delay tied to construction timelines for The Couture, construction of the lakefront line of The Hop, the downtown Milwaukee streetcar, has resumed.
Contractors could be seen Monday, working in the 800 block of East Michigan Street in the shadows of the rising apartment tower, as they prepared to lay parts of the final half-mile horseshoe of track for a line that will eventually take streetcar passengers from Broadway east along Michigan Street, into a modern transit center on the ground floor of The Couture, and then west along Clybourn Street to Milwaukee Street.
The lion’s share of the $14.2 million spur was completed in 2019, but completion of the horseshoe portion was delayed as officials and contractors waited until enough progress was made on The Couture to allow for the bones of the transit center to be laid. Developed by by Barrett Lo visionary Development, the 44-story apartment tower is slated to be completed by early 2024, but some residents could begin moving in this fall.
Speaking about construction of the spur on Monday, Department of Public Works Commissioner Jerrel Kruschke, said construction had just started on the final leg of the spur, and was expected to be completed by the end of July.
“There’s already a lot of track in there. So, from Cass Street going east – we’re basically making a horseshoe. If you are at Clybourn and Michigan streets, that section of the track is already in. We are just finishing the horseshoe – the last step,” Kruschke said. “We have been in ongoing discussions with (Barrett Lo Visionary Development). There has been coordination every day with them, and they have been great to work with.”
Once the track is completed, there will be a few months of testing. Service on the line is expected to begin sometime by the end of the year, he said.
“Right now, we are targeting the beginning of November,” Kruschke said. “We’re pretty excited.”
Once done, the spur will include three new stops – one at Jackson and Michigan streets, one at Jackson and Clybourn streets, and then the stop at The Couture transit center. In addition to hosting the streetcar, the transit center will also serve as a key stop for the East-West Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line, which is also expected to be ready for riders later this year.
As the transit center at The Couture takes shape, project watchers can also keep their eyes peeled for a 142-foot long, 28-foot tall, curved “LED wall screen” for the transit center, which is slated to be erected sometime this fall.
Last Month, Rick Barrett, founder and chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based Barrett Lo Visionary Development, hinted at how the transit concourse would fit with the city of Milwaukee’s planned reconstruction of West Michigan Street.
“With the design that’s been brought forth by the city – and I don’t want to unveil this now – but there’s a couple phases to it, and what they’re trying to achieve at the corner there (is) very exciting. I think the way they’ve thought about it, the way they are looking at designing it for (the) Michigan-to-Clybourn connection to the lakefront is thoughtful, mindful and well done,” said Barrett.
[caption id="attachment_568222" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Contractors work along East Michigan Street on Monday, helping to lay track for the Lakefront Line of The Hop streetcar. (Cara Spoto/BizTimes staff)[/caption]
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