94 EW: WisDOT accepting comments through June 30; additional public meetings scheduled

The Alliance has long supported completion of the I-94 East-West corridor between 16th Street and 70th Street through modernization and expansion of the corridor. Last year, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) announced it was proceeding with a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) using recent data and additional public input. The department continues to analyze six-lane and eight-lane alternatives and has made modifications to reduce impacts and reflect public feedback.

At the public meetings in December of 2021, the Alliance and other I-94 East-West advocates submitted comments in support of the eight-lane alternative. There is another round of public involvement meetings coming up as WisDOT and the Federal Highway Administration evaluate six or eight lanes.

The Alliance will again submit comments in support of modernization and expansion of the corridor through the eight-lane option and encourages our members to do the same, in advance of the June 30 deadline. Read more

It doesn’t matter if you have already submitted a comment on this project in the past. All June comments will be tallied as part of the public meeting summary. Here are two easy ways for you to engage in the process:

1. Submit comments via the WisDOT online comment form
2. Send a letter to the I-94 East-West project manager with a few clicks. Get started here.

If you are submitting comments, the best messages will reflect your personal experience with the corridor. However, here are some points relevant to the Alliance’s support of the project:

• The six-lane version doesn’t address all the corridor’s known issues, specifically severe congestion and the safety challenges that come with it. Where Wisconsin has reconstructed, modernized, and expanded sections of the Southeast Freeway System, crash rates have been reduced by up to 48%.
• Traffic in the corridor has returned to near pre-COVID levels. If we modernize it with six lanes, there will be congestion the day the project is finished. The decision to add capacity is clear-cut.
• It doesn’t make sense to rebuild the roadway with six lanes when it costs almost the same as the 8-lane alternative.
• Public transit and other mobility options are critical to increasing safety, reducing congestion, and promoting economic development in the region. But the new numbers confirm that even with increased transit ridership, it won’t be enough to effectively address traffic congestion on the East-West Corridor without expansion.
• This corridor is over 60 years old and past its useful life. It must be rebuilt. Wisconsin should do it right and rebuild it with eight lanes to handle the traffic of today and the future.
• Every year of delay adds millions to the project’s cost due to inflation. These dollars won’t replace a bridge, increase mobility, or improve safety. It is time to move forward and rebuild the corridor with enhanced safety and added capacity.

Thank you for your support of the vital I-94 East-West Corridor.