Despite a rainy forecast for Friday, the UW Homecoming Parade will still make its way through the streets of downtown Madison rain or shine.
UW Homecoming Committee co-chair Megan Halverson said the parade will go on as planned unless the stormy weather causes a safety issue. Drivers in the area can expect a number of closed streets and bus detours before and during the event.
The parade will begin at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Langdon Street and continue down Wisconsin Avenue for one block before turning onto Gilman Street. It will continue down Gilman until hitting State Street and travel down State before turning onto Lake Street and ending at the intersection of Lake and Langdon.
Halverson said Langdon Street will act as a staging area for the parade and, as a result, the street will be closed from 2 to 8 p.m. Wisconsin Avenue, Lake Street and Gilman Street will be closed from 4:30 p.m. until the parade is over.
Madison Metro spokesperson Mick Rusch said there will also be changes to bus routes in the downtown area to accommodate the parade. Beginning at 3 p.m., Route 85 will use Park Street between University Avenue and Langdon Street. Service to the 400 and 600 blocks of State Street will also end at 3 p.m., so Routes 3, 6 and 29 will enter and exit State Street using Johnson and Gorham Streets instead.
Rusch said buses should be running on their normal schedules by 7 p.m.
