Years-long Zoo Interchange project complete, celebrated with ribbon-cutting ceremony

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- It's hard to imagine the Zoo Interchange in Milwaukee County without some kind of construction going on.

After the better part of a decade, the massive project is finally over. 

It ended with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 9, marking the completion of the final phase of reconstruction. They call it the North Leg. It involved widening of I-41 between Swan Boulevard and Burleigh in Wauwatosa, and the replacement of several bridges and the construction of a new railroad bridge.

We were told that the entire zoo reconstruction project finished $200 million under budget. 

"All that most of us, I think all of us want is just for government to get things done. To get things done to make things better, to make us safer, to make our state more competitive and to make our lives easier. This project does all of those things," said Craig Thompson, Wisconsin secretary of transportation. 

The Zoo Interchange is one of the busiest interchanges in the state, and there are 108,000 jobs located within two miles of its bridges and ramps.

To give some perspective, the overall project started back when Barack Obama was president, Scott Walker was governor, and we had never heard of Covid-19. Donald Trump was still hosting "Celebrity Apprentice" on TV.