Diverging diamond interchange in Waukesha County proposed

WAUKESHA COUNTY, Wis. - The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) has a spot in mind for Waukesha County's first diverging diamond interchange.

But for at least one business owner near I-94 and County F (Redford Boulevard), it's a sore spot.

After a decade of serving up drinks and food, Pewaukee’s Point Burger Bar is under renovation. But General Manager Andy Macintosh is already thinking about another project he has little control over.

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"It’s going to affect business in the area. I think it will affect our business," said Macintosh.

Proposed project

What we know:

The Wisconsin DOT is proposing a diverging diamond at I-94 and County F.

Engineers say the new traffic pattern would help cut down on crashes.

They say it will allow drivers to quote, "make free-flow right and left turns on to the major freeway" by shifting vehicles to the opposite side of the road.

"I don’t think that traffic at F is any of a problem coming off of 94, personally," added Macintosh.

Milwaukee County’s first diverging diamond opened in November 2024. The interchange at I-43 and Brown Deer Road was under construction for more than a year. Macintosh says that is his biggest concern.

Macintosh says he didn’t even know about the project. Neighbors at Riverglen Christian Church say they also weren’t aware of a meeting planned for next week.

Billed as an "open house" to talk about improvements to I-94 and County F, WisDOT is asking the public for feedback. The meeting will take place at the state office building along the Fox River in Waukesha on Aug. 5.

The WisDOT website says the project is currently in the "design phase."

Construction wouldn’t start until 2028.

Macintosh hopes that’s enough time for the dozen or so businesses nearby to plan ahead.

"Either me or my other GM will probably end up going to this meeting. We’ll hear it all out and see how it goes," said Macintosh.

DOT response

What they're saying:

A WisDOT spokesman declined an on-camera interview, but stressed that the Waukesha County diverging diamond may have a shorter construction window than the Milwaukee County project, as explained in the full response below:

"With this proposed alternative currently scheduled for construction in 2028, a lot of the traffic staging and construction plans still have to be developed. This first public meeting is an opportunity for the community to provide feedback for the project team to consider incorporating into its design.

"And yes, there is a Diverging Diamond Interchange at I-43 and Brown Deer Road, but the projects and how they are built are not the same. The Brown Deer Road DDI was staged and planned, taking a 14-mile-long project corridor into consideration having to coordinate closures with adjacent interchanges. It took roughly a year and a half to build. Ramps were closed and offset, ranging from around 3–6 months depending on the ramp. These ramp closures had to be offset/alternate with ramp closures at nearby interchanges to not have both the northbound or southbound ramps closed at both interchanges at the same time. It also had to navigate [the] needs of constructing mainline I-43 lanes.

"With the I-94 and County F interchange proposed as its own project, it may be a shorter build window pending the final traffic staging. All that to say that there are a lot of things WisDOT considers and evaluates in its traffic staging plans with projects, and still needs to do so with I-94 and F.

"A total of 7 incidents have occurred since I-43 and Brown Deer Road opened into the DDI configuration last November - it should be noted that [the] majority of the crashes involved circumstances like a winter storm event, drivers under the influence, and aggressive driving. The WisDOT webpage shows the benefits of DDIs.

"We’re working with the Waukesha County Business Alliance to help share information and to talk with its business community members, and we’ve directed correspondence to individual businesses near the area."

- Dan Sellers, Communications Manager for the Wisconsin DOT, Southeast

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What you can do:

Head to the WisDOT website to learn more about the project.

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