Milwaukee's Lake Drive begins a year-long rebuild Monday. That brings detours, new bike lanes

A year-long reconstruction of Milwaukee's North Lake Drive is to begin Monday − bringing detours for drivers who use the busy commuting route.

The $8.77 million project will run between East Newberry Boulevard, at Lake Park, to East Edgewood Avenue, Milwaukee's border with Shorewood.

It will be done in two stages: between East Edgewood Avenue and East Kenwood Boulevard in 2024, and between East Kenwood and East Newberry boulevards in 2025.

The project is to be completed by mid-2025, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation .

Lake Drive, also known as Wisconsin Highway 32, will be closed to through traffic during construction.

Northbound traffic will be diverted to North Oakland Avenue between Kenwood Boulevard and East Capitol Drive. Southbound traffic will be diverted to North Maryland Avenue between Capitol Drive and Kenwood Boulevard.

A single southbound lane of Lake Drive will remain open to local traffic only. Access to local residences and businesses will be maintained, according to WisDOT.

Traffic restrictions will be lifted during the winter shutdown.

The work will include pavement replacement, curb and ramp improvements, replaced drainage structures and updated traffic streetlights and traffic signals.

The project also will feature protected bike lanes that are separated from the car lanes by curbs.

Protected bike lanes help prevent car-bicycle crashes, according to cycling advocates. They also slow down car speeds, which improves safety for motorists and pedestrians.

Some Lake Drive residents oppose the bike lanes. They're afraid they'll make it more difficult to turn out of their driveways; affect the city's ability to plow snow and respond with emergency vehicles, and mar their historic district's appearance.

Opponents also are unhappy about the elimination of a parking lane on Lake Drive's west side to accommodate the bike lanes.

Officials from the Milwaukee Department of Public Works, which is partnering with WisDOT on the project, say parking use is less than 50% on the street.

The protected curb won't block access to driveways or crosswalks, and is designed to accommodate snowplows and emergency vehicles, according to DPW.

Racine-based A.W. Oakes and Son Inc. is the project's prime contractor.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram , X and Facebook .

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee's Lake Drive begins a year-long rebuild Monday. That brings detours, new bike lanes