With State Budget Talks Stalling, County Board Transportation Committee Calls for More Responsible I-94 Plan

MILWAUKEE — With state budget negotiations hung up over spending on major highway projects, the Milwaukee County Board’s Transportation and Public Works Committee has passed a resolution in opposition to the proposed $850 million expansion of I-94 between 16^th and 70^th streets. The resolution, sponsored by Committee Chairman Michael Mayo, Sr., instead calls for a more cost-effective “Rehab and Transit” option that could cost as little as half as much as Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s expansion proposal.

The “Rehab and Transit” option would repair the highway without adding lanes, while also creating a modern rapid transit network in the Milwaukee region to better connect residents to jobs, services and commerce. The concept plan was developed and championed by the Coalition for More Responsible Transportation (CMRT), a coalition of 25 statewide and local organizations, with 25-year veteran transportation planner and former NJDOT official Mark Stout.

“Our transportation system has to connect people to jobs, promote growth and strengthen the region’s economy,” said Juan Carlos Ruiz of the Cleaner Milwaukee Coalition and CMRT. “This resolution calls on WisDOT to repair I-94 and make safety improvements without adding lanes, while also providing important transit connections to more communities and employers — and saving taxpayers money. This is a responsible alternative to WisDOT’s wasteful $850 million highway expansion plan. We thank the committee for taking this important step.”

“This resolution sends a strong message to state leaders that Milwaukee County wants more responsible transportation options,” said Peter Skopec, WISPIRG Director and CMRT coordinator. “To get out of our state’s transportation budget crisis, we have to scale back unnecessary and outrageously expensive projects like the I-94 expansion, and invest instead in the kind of transportation infrastructure that really meets local needs. We applaud the committee and thank Chairman Mayo for his leadership.”

WisDOT is proposing to unnecessarily add lanes to 3.5 miles of I-94 between the Zoo and Marquette Interchanges in Milwaukee, at an expected cost of $850 million. The Department has not seriously considered an alternative that would repair I-94 without adding lanes, or the creation of a transit route. As a result, the current project plan fails to address fundamental needs in communities across Milwaukee County, including a failure to connect more of the region’s workers to jobs and services or to maintain full access to businesses along the Interstate. This costly project would also divert resources away from much-needed local infrastructure improvements — like pothole repairs and public transportation.

WisDOT has projected strong increases in traffic along I-94 to justify this highway expansion, but recent traffic trends make these projections unlikely to materialize. Only weeks ago, a Federal Court ruled that Wisconsin would receive no federal funding to expand Highway 23 between Fond du Lac and Plymouth because WisDOT had used inaccurate traffic projections to justify that $146 million expansion.

The committee resolution passed by a margin of 5 to 2 on June 10 and heads next to the full County Board of Supervisors, where it will be heard on June 25.

CMRT’s full “Rehab and Transit” proposal for I-94 can be found at http://wispirg.org/reports/wip/rehab-transit-option.

The resolution can be found at https://milwaukeecounty.legistar.com/DepartmentDetail.aspx?ID=11988&GUID=39D57CA4-0B05-49FA-905B-A4974A878DA4

The Coalition for More Responsible Transportation (CMRT) is composed of faith-based, public interest, social justice, public health, environmental and transportation advocacy groups, as well as of hundreds of concerned citizens from Milwaukee and beyond. With spending on big-ticket highway expansions skyrocketing statewide at the expense of local infrastructure investments — and increasingly financed by heavy borrowing — CMRT is calling for more responsible, cost-effective transportation spending that better meets local needs.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.