MILWAUKEE — In downtown Milwaukee, the stages are being set up, parking restrictions are in place and some roads are already closed — all in preparation for the Republican National Convention.
Starting on Monday, this high-scale national security event will impact businesses, residents, and travelers near Fiserv Forum and the Baird Center.
The perimeter area is broken down into two sections: an inner perimeter and an outer perimeter.
The inner perimeter will have restricted access only to those who are credentialed. The outer perimeter is open to pedestrians, but there will be vehicle checkpoints starting at 2 a.m. on Monday.
Several ramps along 794 will also close. On Sunday and Monday, the Hoan Bridge (I-794 between Van Buren Street and Carferry Drive) will close. Eastbound I-794 access to Van Buren Street/St. Paul Avenue remains open.
Watch: Travel and parking downtown will be extremely difficult during the RNC - here's what you need to know:
McKinley Avenue/Fond du Lac Avenue, James Lovell Street and the Kilbourn Avenue Tunnels will all close the week of July 14.
Included in the restricted zone is a portion of the Milwaukee River. No commercial or recreational vessels will be allowed on the river between Cherry Street and Michigan Street.
"So the Milwaukee River is unfortunately going to be impacted from July 14th, starting at 8 am, to Friday, July 19th, at 1 a.m. That could change" said Lt. Phillip Gurtler with the United States Coast Guard
Gurtler says crews have been planning and recently training alongside local and federal agents, preparing for any potential threats.
"We also have some of our more specialized counter terrorism assets that we bring in, like our MSRT. Our Maritime Security Response Teams will come in. They can take a look, and they identify bridges, they identify different weak points...we look at the river not just as a threat vector, but also, how best can we utilize it as an asset should something happen," said Lt. Gurtler.
While preparations are being made on the water, over at the airport, security behind the scenes has also ramped up in anticipation of RNC arrivals.
“There’s more involvement from federal law enforcement agencies from a security perspective, but on the customer service side, yes, there will be additional staff working the shops,” said Harold Mester, Director of Public Affairs and Marketing for Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.
Mester said he anticipates most of the visitors to arrive this weekend, and their busiest days on the departure side are expected to be on the 19th and 20th. On those days, he suggests, if you're flying out of the airport, arrive early.
“We’re going to see an average day on those peak days of about 11 to 12,000 passengers departing, especially if you look at Friday the 19th. That’s when everyone’s going to be trying to leave, so we may have 11 to 13,000 people departing on Friday and Saturday after the event, but it will be kind of similar to a typical spring break travel,” said Mester.
The airport will also have additional staff as ambassadors greeting and welcoming those who are from out of town but Mester said despite the influx of people, he anticipates things to run smoothly.
“Really help with wayfinding, ground transportation, just helping people get through the airport and have a positive experience,” said Mester.
And because of how large that perimeter area is, 14 MCTS routes are being impacted and will have detours. Some of those routes include the busy Connect 1, the Blue Line, and Route 30.
5 additional stops have been added along Milwaukee Street to help passengers get around.
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