Shorewood Oakland Avenue Construction: Businesses Remain Open

In early February, crews shifted every lane of Oakland Avenue traffic to the west side of the street. Today the traffic sits on the east side. That flip is the clearest sign that the nine-block stretch between Capitol Drive and Glendale Avenue is not one construction site. It is two, built in sequence, and the half that is closed to cross traffic this fall is not the half that was closed in spring.

The project started Monday, Feb. 2, and the Village of Shorewood lists a December 2026 finish. That puts the work about eight months in, with a little under three months to go.

The Street Was Flipped Once Already

The village's January 30 construction notice laid out the first phase. Traffic would move to the west side on Thursday, Feb. 5. After that, Kenmore Place, Jarvis Street, Wood Place, Olive Street, Marion Street, Lake Bluff Boulevard and Kensington Boulevard east of Oakland would close until mid-summer. Elmdale Court east of Oakland was the one cross street that stayed open.

The project website now describes the second phase. Traffic on Oakland has shifted to the east side, and northbound and southbound lanes are both open between Capitol and Glendale. Access to and from Oakland at Wood Place, Olive Street, Marion Street and Kensington Boulevard west of Oakland is closed until mid-fall. Motorists can cross Oakland at Kenmore Place, Lake Bluff Boulevard and Glendale Avenue. The site also says Milwaukee County Transit GreenLine service has resumed normal route operations on Oakland.

Those are two different lists of side streets on two different clocks. A driver who learned the detours in March learned the wrong half for October. The February notice was about the east-side cross streets, and the current one is about the west-side ones.

Some rules have not changed since the first shovel. There is no parking on Oakland between Capitol and Glendale, and parked vehicles are subject to citation and towing. The village says parking returns when construction ends, which puts curbside parking at the same December date as everything else.

Four Dates, Four Different Things They Control

The single December finish date hides how many smaller schedules sit inside it. Here is what each one governs.

The village calls the work weather dependent, and the project site is the place to check the current status of each line before planning around it. "Mid-fall" is the only entry without a calendar date.

Sunday Runs on a Different Street

The construction crews work primarily Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to the project FAQ. The same FAQ says weekend work may also occur, so the weekday emphasis is a pattern and not a guarantee.

The Shorewood Farmers Market sits outside the construction footprint entirely. It runs Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the south end of Estabrook Park, 4100 Estabrook Parkway, through Oct. 25. Three Sundays remain after today: Oct. 11, 18 and 25. The market is a not-for-profit, and its site posts each week's vendors, specials and music. In July, for example, that list included Olano's Empanadas, Hidden Garden and Kynsee's Produce and Floral. The fall lineup will differ, so the weekly listing is the better guide.

The river side of the village has its own fixed point. Hubbard Park Lodge & Beer Garden appears in the village's dining directory. A June 2026 review described it as a lodge perched above the Milwaukee River, with a tunnel entrance, a second-level balcony and a Friday fish fry.

The same directory lists a long run of Shorewood names. Draft & Vessel, Harry's Bar and Grill, Milwaukee Brat House, Nino's Southern Sides, North Shore Boulangerie, Scout Wine Merchants, Three Lions Pub, Indulgence Chocolatiers and Little Sprouts Cafe + Play are all on that list. The project site says businesses along Oakland remain open during construction and encourages people to keep supporting them.

What the Businesses on the Avenue Have Said

In late February, WISN reported on how Oakland's businesses were adjusting to the loss of street parking for the rest of the year. Jerome Pitchford, general manager at Nino's Southern Sides, told the station, "Our customers are very loyal." The Shorewood Business Improvement District has built a website with an updated parking map and construction schedule, and the village project team is working with the district on additional signage.

The water work is the least visible disruption and the one most likely to catch a single storefront off guard. The project FAQ says shut-offs for service-line connections generally last two to four hours and affect only the building being connected. Contractors are to notify businesses and property owners 24 to 48 hours ahead. Some night work is scheduled specifically so that businesses with daytime water needs are not interrupted.

One address on Oakland is still an open question. Lebnani House, the Levantine restaurant that opened on the South Side in the summer of 2022, planned a Shorewood location in the former Buttermint space. Buttermint closed in July 2024. It had opened in 2021 after Blue's Egg closed in 2020, and both were run by Black Shoe Hospitality. The operating partner for the Shorewood restaurant, Sofian Shilleh, owns the La Frutta fresh fruit and smoothie restaurants.

OnMilwaukee reported in December 2025 that the restaurant was slated to open in late spring or early summer of 2026. The most recent coverage available, an OnMilwaukee column from June 17, 2026, still described it as an upcoming second location. There is no confirmation here that it has opened, so a call ahead is the safe step before making the trip.

What Oakland Keeps When the Fencing Comes Down

The roadway will be the same width when the work ends. What changes is what sits at its edges and under it.

• Curb extensions, often called bump-outs, will be built throughout the project limits. The village describes them as shortening the distance to cross the street.
• New rectangular rapid flash beacons will go in at Elmdale Court and Glendale Avenue, and the existing ones at Jarvis Street will be replaced or modified.
• The southbound right-turn lane at Metro Market will be removed.
• Bicycle accommodations will be enhanced.
• All traffic signals and street lighting will be upgraded.
• Additional bus shelters will be installed at Kenmore Place.
• Water mains, laterals and sewers will be replaced, along with any lead pipes.

The corridor covers about three-quarters of a mile. The village's own description of the area runs from a big-box grocery store and national retailers to small local shops and restaurants, with numerous multiunit and mixed-use residential buildings along the way.

The project team emails a weekly construction forecast to anyone who signs up on the project website. It is the most reliable way to learn when the west-side streets reopen and when the December date holds.

If you are curious how a street rebuild like Oakland Avenue's fits into decisions about a home near the corridor, whether a sale, a purchase or a longer-term plan, Isaac Beckley is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.