Milwaukee Will Shrink Its Secret Highway

S. 1st Street at W. Lincoln Avenue. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The stretch of 1st Street between W. Lincoln Avenue and S. Chase Avenue is unlike virtually any other street in Milwaukee.

There are no sidewalks or pedestrian accommodations to be found on the approximately half-mile, four-lane stretch, and there is little traffic. There are no homes or businesses. The only driveway is a chained-off ramp to a Deep Tunnel access point.

A new project from the Department of Public Works aims to transform the corridor from a secret highway to an environmentally and people-friendly corridor.

Construction is to start this summer on a project that will cut the number of travel lanes from four to two. The two northbound lanes will be depaved, with a three-foot-wide terrace added between the remaining roadway and a new 10-foot-wide bicycle and pedestrian path. A bioswale will also be added along the eastern edge, in the space that divides the Kinnickinnic River from the roadway.

The design, which underwent its first public review at an April 8 open house at MKE Urban Stables, will reduce the amount of paved surface by 36,000 square feet. The bioswales and other environmental features are expected to add almost 91,000 gallons of storm water storage capacity, and 40 trees are expected to be planted.

The project is being designed by the city in partnership with Harbor District Inc. A $345,000 grant from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District and an additional grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Sustain Our Great Lakes program are supporting the project.

The new shared-use path will connect with the Kinnickinnic River Trail, which also runs on the opposite side of the river, at W. Lincoln Avenue. A connecting segment between the two existing KK River Trail segments, construction of which is expected to occur this year, would also into the redesigned 1st Street corridor. Lincoln Playfield, to the northwest, is also being reconstructed and will include a natural riverwalk.

At the south end of S. 1st Street, S. Chase Avenue was rebuilt just before the pandemic. The design was drafted before the city’s Complete Streets policy was adopted in 2018 and was constructed as a four-lane street with painted bike lanes and sidewalks. The Harbor District is quietly operating a pilot of a river cleaning system near the intersection of S. 1st Street and S. Chase Avenue.

The roadway’s current design is partially a casualty of geography and the era in which it was built. Baran Park is located to the west, but it’s up a steep hill. The Kinnickinnic River parallels the street to the east, but it’s down a steep bluff.

The area’s isolation can be attributed to its historic uses and changing elevations. Milwaukee and Bay View pioneer and politician Enoch Chase owned a farm, brickyard and glassworks in the general area where Baran Park now stands. Valley Road previously ran near the river, but the current configuration, which includes a bridge that links directly to S. 1st Street, was constructed in the 1950s. The road was built in a happy motoring era when the city continued to turn its back on its rivers and in favor of more pavement.

Fun fact: Despite the current lack of pedestrian accommodations, that doesn’t mean no one walks there. This author did it once out of curiosity (don’t recommend it). The Milverine, John Hamann, was also captured by a Google Street View car going for a shirtless stroll in August 2021.

More information on the project timing is available on the Engage Milwaukee website.

Photos

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