The Sconi

A beaming Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway made a point of being front and center for the groundbreaking on the city’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.

“After 30 years, Madison will finally have rapid transit,” Rhodes-Conway tweeted on Dec. 16. “I am grateful for the Team City effort that led to our groundbreaking and deeply grateful to Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation who share our vision of a modern rapid transit system that lifts regional economies.”

Earlier this month, city officials held the ceremonial groundbreaking for the east-west section of the long anticipated BRT project, with Rhodes being joined at the event by Evers and State Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson.

Rhodes-Conway said the moment had been a long time coming.

“Someone who relies on transit to get to work shouldn’t have to make an hour and 15 minute commute trip one way,” she told Channel 3000 News, adding that the goal of the system is to shorten travel times, create fewer stops and improve connections to important locations such as the downtown area, Hilldale Shopping Center, East Towne and West Towne malls, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Madison College campuses.

“We all deserve mobility choices to get us to where we need to go in a reasonable amount of time,” she said, according to Channel 3000 News.

With construction of stations set to kick off next spring, Wisconsin Public Radio reported that the east-west route is expected to be operational by late 2024 and fully completed by the year 2025.