Originally built in the 1960s, the interchange underwent a total rebuild between 2004 and 2008, and was officially opened on August 19, 2008, after what was at the time the largest construction project in state history.

The idea of a north–south freeway with an interchange in downtown Milwaukee was first proposed in 1952 for an area south and east of Marquette University.

[citation needed] By the 2000s, the interchange was experiencing severe deterioration and traffic problems due to major design flaws, including poorly designed left exits and vehicles having to weave across travel lanes to reach exit ramps, causing accidents and bottlenecks.

[citation needed] The junction underwent a complete reconstruction dubbed the Marquette Interchange Project between 2004 and 2008, and was officially opened on August 19, 2008, several weeks ahead of schedule.

The project also demolished the Milwaukee County Courthouse Annex parking structure that stood over the northbound lanes of I-43 just north of the interchange.

The interchange reconstruction also re-configured the stubbed Park Freeway to an arterial street design, with the freed up land eventually leading to the redevelopment of the Haymarket neighborhood, and the construction of the Fiserv Forum arena.