Work on the downtown bus rapid transit stations on State Street and the Capitol Square began Monday, Feb 19. These four stations (one in each direction at both locations) will be under construction for about two months, finishing the construction work by late April assuming reasonably cooperative weather. We chose this time frame to be after the December holiday shopping season but before the warmer spring weather when more people are out.
Crews set up traffic control on State Street with a lane closure near the stations. State Street is now one-way westbound in this stretch except for bikes, and buses are detoured to Broom / Bassett Streets and West Washington. On the Capitol Square, the bus lane will be closed but the bus stops at Main at Carroll and Mifflin at Pinckney will remain open, but buses will have less space because of the construction. Sidewalks and businesses will remain open. This week crews will be doing removals leading to underground utility work that is necessary to build the stations. Please use caution and obey any signs.
More BRT shelters will be going up around the corridor soon. New shelters will be going in at Rosa, Midvale, Shorewood, University Bay, First Street, Mendota Street, and Independence stations.
Metro has received four of its new battery electric buses. We will be testing them so you may see them out on the road, but they will not be in service until this summer.
Your patience and cooperation is appreciated as we continue to bring BRT closer to completion. Each station location takes three to four months to complete, but factors ranging from inclement weather to supply issues can change these timelines. Construction, installation, and testing will continue through our planned launch in late 2024.
The safety of our crews and all roadway users is our top priority. Construction crews are working closely with the city to safely manage traffic and travel at each site with as little inconvenience as possible.
Please feel free to reach out to BRTconstruction@cityofmadison.com if you have any concerns or have ideas on what can be done better.
