Eric Murphy
A nearly complete BRT shelter at UW-Madison’s East Campus Mall.
Over the last 18 months, stations for the city’s bus rapid transit system have popped up along East Washington Avenue, University Avenue and Mineral Point Road. BRT project manager Mike Cechvala says the project is now entering the homestretch, with more than two-thirds of the route’s 44 platforms and 43 shelters erected and about a dozen left to go.
“We know there’s a little bit of buzz out there. People are starting to get anxious and excited,” says Cechvala. “At first, all they saw was lane closures, concrete and construction, and now they’re starting to see something more like the finished product. We’re starting to get really close here.”
Some of the stations still underway include westbound stations between East Towne Mall and Stoughton Road and one at the intersection of East Washington Avenue and Milwaukee Street. Crews will soon be installing smaller pieces like benches, railings, ceiling tiles and glass panels.
“Unfortunately we haven’t seen our last orange barrel on the project,” says Cechvala. But this summer “you’ll start to see less heavy construction and more finishing touches be put on.”
Even on stations that are yet to be built, the longest phase of the construction process dealing with underground infrastructure, paving and sidewalks has been completed — “you’re gonna see stations come together faster now,” he says.
Madison Metro is expecting construction to be completed in late summer and for the first rapid transit line — Route A — to start operating in fall. The exact date will depend on how good the weather is for construction crews this summer.
Metro staff have been working on the project for more than a decade. “We started doing some planning for this back in 2012,” says Cechvala. “There was quite a long stretch there where we didn’t know if it would ever happen. A lot of us put in a lot of work to get to this point.”
Planning has already begun to turn Metro’s Route B into a second, north-south rapid transit route that will include a reconstruction of Park Street with center bus lanes, a protected bike path on one side, and more trees. The route would run from McKee Road in Fitchburg through the isthmus, and along Packers Avenue and Northport Drive. Construction is expected to start in 2026.
