A major portion of the Waukesha County Courthouse is about to open to the relief of a lot of courthouse users.
“Are you lost?” asked TMJ4 Reporter Rebecca Klopf.
“Yes, I am,” answers an unnamed woman looking for the elevator.
That is often the response as people wander around inside the courthouse trying to figure out how to navigate the construction maze to the new court tower. But on Monday, extra elevator rides, the cut throughs and the tents all come down a new walkway opens.
Klopf went to the courthouse Thursday to see what people are currently dealing with and how the new walkway will compare. She brought along an “Are You Lost?” sign and stood in the new court tower to see how people were navigating the route.
Watch: Lost in the Waukesha County Courthouse? A new walkway should fix that
“I’m trying to get to the third floor,” said an unidentified man to Rebecca as she held out her sign.
“Yes, you are very close,” she answered.
“To a second-floor courtroom?” asked another women.
“All the way down that way,” pointed Rebecca. “Now through here. Go all the way through the tent, through the cafeteria.’
It is truly a maze to make it through from the front of the building into the new court tower.
"A long path down a hallway, down an elevator, cut through the cafeteria, under a tent, and we had blue dots indicating that route, but it was nonetheless confusing to a lot of folks,” said Allison Bussler, department of public works for Waukesha County.
Those blue dots are about to be removed as a new section of the courthouse opens.
“On Monday, we are going to open the north-south wings, which include a direct link to our courtrooms as well,” said Bussler.
That direct link is the biggest change for people coming to the courthouse. Klopf and her photographer Jeff Morris put it to the test. Morris went through the new walkway arriving to the new court tower in about 60 seconds. Klopf went the old way and it took around five minutes.
"The good news is, if you are coming to court is it's going to be a lot easier to find your courtroom,” said Bussler.
But this isn't the end of construction that doesn't finish until the middle of 2027.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
