UPDATED: I-94 Re-Opened After Closure

Updated 12:04 p.m. Saturday: I-94 in Oak Creek has been re-opened after a 12-hour closure to move the Rawson Avenue bridge into place, according to WISN 12 News.

The freeway closure was scheduled from 10 p.m. Friday to 10 a.m. Saturday between College Avenue and the Milwaukee-Racine county line. 

Drivers have probably noticed the bridge under construction away from Rawson Avenue. The DOT is utilizing a self-propelled modular transporter to move two 3 million-pound deck pieces into place. 

Officials say the innovative technology reduces traffic disruption and allows roadways to open sooner.

It would usually take four to six months to demolish the existing bridge and build a new one, according to a DOT news release. Using SPMT, however, the bridge is scheduled to open in late June — just four weeks after the old Rawson Avenue bridge was demolished.

The bridge-moving method is so unique that film crews will be at the Rawson Interchange Friday night to document it, Oak Creek Mayor Steve Scaffidi said.

While the bridge will open soon, I-94 exit and entrance ramps at Rawson will remain closed until late fall when the entire interchange project is completed.

Crews are reconstructing the interchange into a "tight diamond," meaning ramp connections with the cross street will be brought closer to I-94. Officials say this will allow for better traffic flow between the interchange and 13th and 20th streets.

The project, the biggest road construction work in Oak Creek this year, is part of the massive North-South freeway project scheduled to continue to 2021.