WISPIRG is recommending a combination of rebuilt freeway with rapid transit to link the Burleigh and 101st St. park-and-ride lots to a downtown Milwaukee streetcar line, the Intermodal Station and Wisconsin Center with cross-town connections at Miller Park. Credit: WISPIRG

SHARE Video Loading...

By of the

Opponents of a proposed $1.1 billion expansion of the I-94 east-west corridor in Milwaukee gathered Tuesday in City Hall to recommend rebuilding the existing freeway with safety improvements and the possible addition of mass transit.

Ald. Bob Bauman, whose district encompasses an eastern portion of the corridor, said he supports spending up to $350 million for reconstructing the six-lane freeway.

But an additional $800 million for the expansion to eight lanes proposed by state transportation officials is not justified by traffic volumes, he said.

Stagnant gasoline tax revenue has conspired with the state's aging infrastructure to leave Wisconsin's transportation fund with a multibillion-dollar shortfall over the next decade.

To address it, the state Department of Transportation is asking elected officials for $750 million in new taxes and fees over the next two years, along with $805 million in new borrowing.

Common Council President Michael Murphy criticized a specific piece of one state option for the proposed I-94 expansion — a double-decked section of freeway that extends less than 2,000 feet — that would cost more than $180 million.

The upper deck would bring vehicles — and accompanying air and noise pollution — closer to neighborhoods north of the freeway on both sides of Hawley Road, including Story Parkway, Murphy said. He represents the neighborhoods on the council.

WISPIRG, a consumer advocacy group in Madison, and the statewide Coalition for More Responsible Transportation, unveiled an alternative that goes beyond freeway repairs by adding rail transit and enhanced bus service to the corridor and nearby arterial streets such as Wisconsin, National and Greenfield avenues.

Instead of highway expansion, their option "would enhance economic development, better connect people to jobs in the region, and support local communities," said Bruce Speight, director of WISPIRG and member of the coalition.

"The system would link the Burleigh and 101st St. park-and-ride lots to the downtown Milwaukee streetcar, the Intermodal Station, with crosstown connections" through Miller Park, Speight said at a news conference.

Though no cost estimates were provided for regional mass transit service, bus rapid transit service costs less than light rail, a WISPIRG report said.

A 10-mile designated busway in Oakland, Calif., cost $178 million and a similar 17-mile system in San Jose, Calif., cost $188 million, according to the report. The proposed light rail connecting Minneapolis and St. Paul is estimated to cost $957 million.

"Building a new set of transportation infrastructure in Milwaukee's east-west corridor," and restoring the existing highway, will be expensive, the WISPIRG report said. "Unlike the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's outmoded highway designs, however, this proposed investment will pay dividends for generations to come."

"This is not a highway vs. rail issue," Bauman said.

"We can debate transit options in the future," he said. Bauman suggested using the busy arterial streets in the corridor for higher-speed bus transit.

Bauman urged taxpayers to reject freeway expansion plans proposed by the state Department of Transportation.

The department's proposed increases in state taxes on gasoline and diesel fuels, and new fees on hybrid vehicles and purchases of new cars, "are all driven by massive highway expansion plans," Bauman said.

State transportation officials have scheduled two public hearings this week to review plan alternatives along the nearly 3.5-mile stretch of freeway between 16th and 70th streets.

State DOT spokesman Mike Pyritz said the opponents of a double-decker expansion should turn out for the hearings and testify or provide written comments. He said the state's current discussions center on two eight-lane alternatives developed by the department for the east-west section of I-94.

In the first, the additional story would be built for expanding the freeway lanes, and in the other, the existing shoulder of the interstate would be used to add the lanes. The first option would provide for more space and potentially more safety while the other would be substantially cheaper.

"Each one has pluses and minuses, there's no doubt about it," Pyritz said. "That's why there are those discussions."

The hearing schedule: 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Tommy Thompson Youth Center at Wisconsin State Fair Park, enter at Gate No. 5 off S. 84th St.; 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Marquette University High School, 3401 W. Wisconsin Ave., enter at Michigan St. parking lot.

This segment of I-94 was completed in 1963. The concrete roadbed and its gravel base have deteriorated and need to be replaced, according to transportation officials.

State transportation officials recommend giving the freeway a complete makeover to improve safety when the pavement is replaced. Plans call for eliminating closely spaced interchanges and left-side entrance and exit ramps.

About 2,230 vehicle crashes occurred along the corridor from 2005 to 2009, according to the DOT. The most common types of crashes included rear-end and sideswipe collisions, and single vehicles leaving the roadway.

Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.