Supervisor Burgelis Decries DOT Preferred Alternative for I-94 East-West project

MILWAUKEE – The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration today announced a preferred alternative for reconstruction of the I-94 East-West corridor between 70th Street and 16th Street in Milwaukee County.  

“While a safer and smarter redesign of the I-94 corridor in District 15 is overdue, unfortunately, the Wisconsin Department of Concrete released a preferred eight lane option for this project,” said Supervisor Burgelis. “Building oversized freeways without considerations for multimodal transportation or permanent transit infrastructure is narrow-minded and shortsighted, and ignores concerns voiced by residents throughout this years-long design process. The eight-lane design does not serve the people of District 15, Milwaukee County, or Southeastern Wisconsin as well as it could. I call on residents to voice their concerns about this at two public hearings in December.”  

In 2014 WisDOT intended to further widen I-94 to increase road lane mile capacity for drivers and reconfigure an obsolete design which may pose safety issues, at an approximate cost of $850 million (File No. 14-941), while in 2015 Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee opposed widening, instead favoring in-kind replacement and funding for transit (File No. 15-426), leading to the Wisconsin Governor rescinding the project in 2017. 

The County Board of Supervisors adopted the resolution in File No. 21-378, attempting to reaffirm Milwaukee County’s position against further expansion of Interstate 94, which was in turn vetoed by the County Executive due to a “lack of process, public notice and comment, and committee involvement,” but was later reviewed by the Committee on Transportation, Public Works and Transit where the public had greater opportunity to opine to their representatives. 

The project’s estimated cost is $1.2 billion. It would add a fourth lane in each direction on the freeway. 

Two public hearings are planned for the public to review and provide input on the preferred alternative. Additional details on those meetings are listed below. 

The first hearing is scheduled for Monday, December 12, 2022, from 3 to 7 p.m. It will be held at the Tommy Thompson Youth Center in Wisconsin State Fair Park. (640 S. 84th Street, Milwaukee) Enter through Gate #5. Transit access via MCTS Route 33. 

The second hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, December 14, 2022, from 4 to 7 p.m. It will be held at Marquette University High School (3401 W. Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee) Enter from Michigan St. parking lot. Transit access via MCTS Routes: 35, 30 and Gold Line. 

More information on the I-94 East-West corridor project can be found at wisconsindot.gov/94eastwest. 

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.