MILWAUKEE — Local, State, and Federal officials gathered in Milwaukee on June 10, 2021 for a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off construction on the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS)’s East-West Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, a first-of-its-kind undertaking in Wisconsin that will provide improved access to the region’s most vital, most traveled, and most congested corridor.
Governor Tony Evers, U.S. Congresswoman Gwen Moore, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride, Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) Secretary Craig Thompson, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Regional Administrator Kelley Brookins, and Milwaukee Alderman Bob Bauman were among the guests who spoke about the importance of transit in our region.
Click here to watch a livestream of the event, including remarks from all of the speakers.
The nine-mile BRT route will allow MCTS to better connect major employment, education and recreation destinations through downtown Milwaukee, Marquette University, Milwaukee’s Near West Side, Wauwatosa, and the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center (MRMC).
The BRT route will operate primarily along Wisconsin Avenue, Bluemound Road, and a portion of 92nd Street. Ultra-modern battery-electric buses will serve 33 individual, state-of-the-art stations located between Milwaukee’s lakefront and the Watertown Plank Road Park & Ride lot.
BRT passengers will enjoy more efficient, higher frequency service thanks to the utilization of all-electric buses, dedicated bus lanes, traffic signal priority, off-board fare collection, optimized station locations, raised platforms that allow for easy boarding, and other exciting amenities.
Click here to visit the BRT’s new construction website for more information about the project, including a routing map that shows where buses will stop to pick up and drop off passengers.
Nova Bus, a leading North American transportation manufacturer that’s part of the Volvo Group, will produce 11 LFSe+ battery-electric buses that will run exclusively on the BRT route. Learn more about the vehicles here.
BRT construction is getting underway this month. Revenue service is expected to start in Fall 2022.
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