Plan to Potentially Remove Downtown Milwaukee’s Interstate Faces Public Scrutiny

The public is weighing in on a suite of options for repairing, replacing, or removing Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee.

2 minute read

August 27, 2023, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


An aerial view of Milwaukee’s Third Ward.

Advocates argue that removing I-794 in downtown Milwaukee would reconnect the city’s historic Third Ward. | James / Adobe Stock

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is collecting feedback on a plan to repair, replace, or remove Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee during a series of public open houses.

“The open houses presented several conceptual alternatives from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation on either repairing the elevated freeway, or replacing it with at-grade streets between roughly the Hoan Bridge's northern approach and a few blocks west of the Milwaukee River,” reports Tom Daykin for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The article includes overviews each of the alternatives, including two options for removing the freeway; one plan to replace the freeway in kind; four plans to “rebuild freeway bridges within I-794's current alignment that keeps a wider separation of the eastbound and westbound lanes − while using updated design standards to improve safety”; and two plans to “rebuild freeway bridges with a tightened alignment between eastbound and westbound lanes that uses updated design standards.”

“Freeway removal supporters say the streets can handle the change, which would open several blocks for commercial development − and tear down a barrier between downtown, the lakefront and the Historic Third Ward,” reports Daykin. “Opponents fear removing the freeway would shift tens of thousands of cars daily to surface streets − clogging traffic and lengthening commutes.”

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Dan Slapczynski is firmly in the opposition camp, writing an opinion piece that suggests the project will solely benefit real estate developers and hurt neighborhoods around the interstate. The column finds fault with supporters’ claims that I-794 worsens pedestrian safety and contributes to the city’s population decline, but doesn’t offer any specific reasoning for those claims.

Supporters of the freeway removal option have published a website called Rethink 794.

The city’s new downtown comprehensive plan supports the freeway removal, as detailed in an article shared by Planetizen in April 2023. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation did in 2022 decide to expand Interstate 94 in Milwaukee despite the opposition of local groups.

Wednesday, August 9, 2023 in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

An aerial view of Milwaukee’s Third Ward.

Plan to Potentially Remove Downtown Milwaukee’s Interstate Faces Public Scrutiny

The public is weighing in on a suite of options for repairing, replacing, or removing Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee.

August 27, 2023 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Portland Bus Lane

‘Forward Together’ Bus System Redesign Rolling Out in Portland

Portland is redesigning its bus system to respond to the changing patterns of the post-pandemic world—with twin goals of increasing ridership and improving equity.

August 30, 2023 - Mass Transit

Conceptual rendering of Rikers Island redevelopment as renewable energy facility

Can New York City Go Green Without Renewable Rikers?

New York City’s bold proposal to close the jail on Rikers Island and replace it with green infrastructure is in jeopardy. Will this compromise the city’s ambitious climate goals?

August 24, 2023 - Mark McNulty

A rendering of the Utah City master planned, mixed-use development.

700-Acre Master-Planned Community Planned in Utah

A massive development plan is taking shape for lakefront property in Vineyard, Utah—on the site of a former U.S. Steel Geneva Works facility.

6 hours ago - Daily Herald

A line of cars wait at the drive-thru window of a starbucks.

More Cities Ponder the End of Drive-Thrus

Drive-thru fast food restaurants might be a staple of American life, but several U.S. cities are actively considering prohibiting the development of new drive-thrus for the benefit of traffic safety, air quality, and congestion.

7 hours ago - The Denver Post

Air pollution is visible in the air around high-rise buildings in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Air Pollution World’s Worst Public Health Threat, Report Says

Air pollution is more likely to take years life off the lifespan of the average human than any other external factor, according to a recent report out of the University of Chicago.

August 31 - Phys.org