Milwaukee area freeways

[SEWIGuy]

The SE Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission has a bunch of ideas on its site that are absolutely going nowhere.  They still have the US-12 relocation plan between Elkhorn and Whitewater on there!

Until a project gets listed on the WIDOT site, its best to view this as thought-pieces instead of active plans.

[triplemultiplex]

It can be tempting to read too much into SEWRPC's ideas about the freeway network since many of the rebuilds/expansions in the last 20 years seem to be rooted in their proposals in that document.  But they are just recommendations from a committee, basically.

Extending the Lake Parkway just to College Ave would involve some fairly significant r/w impacts to several light industrial properties and the new USPS distribution facility they put in less than 10 years ago.  Tough sell this day in age to build new highways in already built-up areas to begin with.  I think the ship has sailed on this idea.  Someone at SEWRPC clinging to the mid-20th century notion of the Lake Freeway extending all the way to Illinois.

[The Ghostbuster]

Here is a story from Wisconsin Watch about flooding concerns due to the Interstate 94 expansion project: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/milwaukee-residents-fear-more-flooding-due-to-planned-i-94-expansion/ar-AA1f59vA?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=e7d755586c3245d48d1844ee152db8d2&ei=52.

[colinstu]

Here is a story from Wisconsin Watch about flooding concerns due to the Interstate 94 expansion project: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/milwaukee-residents-fear-more-flooding-due-to-planned-i-94-expansion/ar-AA1f59vA?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=e7d755586c3245d48d1844ee152db8d2&ei=52.

Those Story Hill NIMBYs will never shut up won't they? Fabricating stuff, folks, they're not gonna just plunk down a highway and not deal with the water from it. It's all figured out. What a joke.

[SEWIGuy]

Here is a story from Wisconsin Watch about flooding concerns due to the Interstate 94 expansion project: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/milwaukee-residents-fear-more-flooding-due-to-planned-i-94-expansion/ar-AA1f59vA?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=e7d755586c3245d48d1844ee152db8d2&ei=52.

Those Story Hill NIMBYs will never shut up won't they? Fabricating stuff, folks, they're not gonna just plunk down a highway and not deal with the water from it. It's all figured out. What a joke.

Eh. Can't really blame them for worrying about the impacts of a highway expansion through their neighborhood.

[triplemultiplex]

If anything, the flooding potential after this project will be better, not worse. Because when this freeway was built in the 60's, there was no understanding of the usefulness of detaining and delaying runoff.  They just tried to shunt rainfall into the closest waterway to get it flowing away from whatever it is they were building.  That was the mentality back then.

Now we have a much more complete understanding of how urban surfaces interact with rainfall and snowmelt.  We know to include infrastructure that softens the surge of runoff flowing from impermeable surfaces.  You'll never see concrete-lined ditches along newly built or rebuilt roads (excepting some rare situations.)  They know to use rip-rap instead because that slows the flow of run off.  They also know to build retention features into the drainage system, including having little check dams in the ditch to slow the flow of run off and reduce the potential discharge peak in local streams like the Menomonee River or Honey Creek in this case.

If someone wants to be against this reconstruction project; fine.  There are plenty of understandable reasons to do so.  Why include one that is not only not going to materialize, but get better?

The annoying thing is, because this is just one project going on in a large, mostly urbanized watershed with lots of changes to impermeable surfaces every single year, there very well could be a net increase in peak discharges during rain events by the time the freeway project is complete.  But only because they built a new subdivision way up in Germantown and someone repaved a parking lot over by Penzy Spices and a new warehouse went up in Menomonee Falls.  And these people will blame it on the I-94 expansion project even though it will add less water to the river than it does now.

[mgk920]

Approved!

The Feds gave their final approval to the planned 8-lane upgrade of the I-94 east-West Freeway, rejecting all civil rights objections.  This $1.2B 'big shovel' project is now set to begin construction next year.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2024/03/08/i-94-freeway-widening-on-milwaukees-west-side-wins-federal-approval/72900165007/

Enjoy! 

Mike

[The Ghostbuster]

Good news! This project is long overdue. Hopefully it proceeds as planned.

[triplemultiplex]

I wonder how they will handle the cemetery west of Brewers Stadium.

Basically just not gonna have shoulders thru there.

[triplemultiplex]

Yesterday, the second PIM was held for the Reimagining WIS 175 Study: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/se/175study/default.aspx. As everyone likely knows, STH 175 is a small chunk of what was proposed of the Stadium Freeway: https://www.wisconsinhighways.org/milwaukee/stadium.html. In the alternatives for the Southern Segment (https://hdp-us-prod-app-graef-engage-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/3517/1457/5221/2024-04-30_WIS_175_PIM_2_Alternatives_-_Full_Length_South.pdf) and the Northern Segment (https://hdp-us-prod-app-graef-engage-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/3717/1457/7708/2024-04-30_WIS_175_PIM_2_Alternatives_-Full_Length_North.pdf); my preference would be Alt. 4 for the Southern Segment, and Alt. 2 for the Northern Segment.

Posting my reply to this post in this thread where it'll fit better.

For the southern portion, I'll take the roundabout SPUI from option 5 and the Martin-State connector from option 6.

I'd also like to see the east end of Bluemound turn to Wisconsin Ave like it currently does.  Straightening out like in all the options; not sure I get that.  Gonna have a lot of traffic turning on that connector street; like most of the traffic; especially on game days.

The north portion; option 4 is closest to what I had thought about.  But for me, it's shifted west a tiny bet to stay within the existing r/w.  There's no reason to take more land from Washington Park than necessary by aligning it where the proposal shows.

The tunnel option is just ridiculous.  Not sure why that's even in there.

[ET21]

Drove up to Road America yesterday and liked the progress I saw on I-43 northbound, including some very janky left lane pavement repairs in the 2 lane section between Donges Bay Rd and the Highway 57 split to Plymouth.

Does WISDOT have any upgrade plans for that 2 lane section after the core section is done between Milwaukee and Donges Bay Road?

[triplemultiplex]

Current expansion project on I-43 runs from Silver Spring Rd to WI 60.
North of there, nothing is being studied.

Only kernel of something is a 20 year old SEWRPC study that recommended six lanes to the WI 57 split.
Would be nice to switch up that left exit situation there where you've gotta move right to stay on 43, but meh; money.

[mgk920]

Current expansion project on I-43 runs from Silver Spring Rd to WI 60.
North of there, nothing is being studied.

Only kernel of something is a 20 year old SEWRPC study that recommended six lanes to the WI 57 split.
Would be nice to switch up that left exit situation there where you've gotta move right to stay on 43, but meh; money.

And when that was first built, the plans were far, far different than how it eventually became.

Mike

[The Ghostbuster]

Yes, Interstate 43 (then proposed as Interstate 57) was to have followed the STH 57 corridor from Saukville to Green Bay. Due to protests at the state capital (which included farmers and their cattle), the Milwaukee-to-Green Bay Interstate was follow the US 141 corridor, both utilizing existing and new right-of-way. I agree that the northbound left-hand off-ramp to STH 57 North should be moved to the right-hand-side, although that probably won't happen anytime soon.

[Big John]

Yes, Interstate 43 (then proposed as Interstate 57) was to have followed the STH 57 corridor from Saukville to Green Bay. Due to protests at the state capital (which included farmers and their cattle), the Milwaukee-to-Green Bay Interstate was follow the US 141 corridor, both utilizing existing and new right-of-way. I agree that the northbound left-hand off-ramp to STH 57 North should be moved to the right-hand-side, although that probably won't happen anytime soon.

Another reason that interchange is configured the way it is now was that the Stadium North freeway was planned to end there at a future date. Of course, those plans were then scrapped.

[The Ghostbuster]

I was aware that the Stadium Freeway North was to have ultimately terminated at Interstate 43 near Saukville instead of at Lisbon Ave. as it does today. Now, even the existing Stadium Freeway North is undergoing a study to reconfigure and "reimagine" the corridor: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/se/175study/default.aspx. When that happens, the Stadium Freeway name will likely be retired permanently.

[Black-Man]

Drove up to Road America yesterday and liked the progress I saw on I-43 northbound, including some very janky left lane pavement repairs in the 2 lane section between Donges Bay Rd and the Highway 57 split to Plymouth.

As did I and was shocked they were doing concrete expansion joint repairs on a Saturday and by Sunday it was open for traffic. One rough ride. This is usually a multi-month project in states I usually travel (granted this was only a 2 mile stretch) but to not bother diamond grinding the concrete??

[mgk920]

Drove up to Road America yesterday and liked the progress I saw on I-43 northbound, including some very janky left lane pavement repairs in the 2 lane section between Donges Bay Rd and the Highway 57 split to Plymouth.

As did I and was shocked they were doing concrete expansion joint repairs on a Saturday and by Sunday it was open for traffic. One rough ride. This is usually a multi-month project in states I usually travel (granted this was only a 2 mile stretch) but to not bother diamond grinding the concrete??

WisDOT is currently doing a resurfacing job on the part of I-41 in the Appleton and Neenah area that was upgraded to six lanes in the late 1980s, including changing out bad squares of concrete, and, unlike in previous such periodic projects, 'diamond grinding' the resulting work smooth.  The parts that they are done with are giving a VERY smooth ride, indeed.

Mike

[Big John]

^^ construction took place from 1992-1994.

[triplemultiplex]

Yes, Interstate 43 (then proposed as Interstate 57) was to have followed the STH 57 corridor from Saukville to Green Bay. Due to protests at the state capital (which included farmers and their cattle), the Milwaukee-to-Green Bay Interstate was follow the US 141 corridor, both utilizing existing and new right-of-way. I agree that the northbound left-hand off-ramp to STH 57 North should be moved to the right-hand-side, although that probably won't happen anytime soon.

That was also the preferred corridor when Wisconsin submitted an MKE-GB interstate for consideration in the 1968 apportionment.

[mgk920]

Yes, Interstate 43 (then proposed as Interstate 57) was to have followed the STH 57 corridor from Saukville to Green Bay. Due to protests at the state capital (which included farmers and their cattle), the Milwaukee-to-Green Bay Interstate was follow the US 141 corridor, both utilizing existing and new right-of-way. I agree that the northbound left-hand off-ramp to STH 57 North should be moved to the right-hand-side, although that probably won't happen anytime soon.

That was also the preferred corridor when Wisconsin submitted an MKE-GB interstate for consideration in the 1968 apportionment.

Yea, the southbound side of that never built interstate highway was where thet  pathway was built along WI 57 between Kiel and New Holstein, on ROW was already owned by WisDOT for that highway.

Mike

[fuller523]

Drove on westbound I-894 past the Mitchell Interchange where roadwork is ongoing.  They have filled in the former SB Stadium to EB 894 ramp, and the former interchange space is now graded and ready for a mixed-use office/residential complex.  Just like that, the Stadium South interchange officially fades into history.

[The Ghostbuster]

Had the Stadium Freeway South been completed to the Interstates 41/43/894 Airport Freeway, the interchange would have been called the Greenfield Interchange.

[SEWIGuy]

Had the Stadium Freeway South been completed to the Interstates 41/43/894 Airport Freeway, the interchange would have been called the Greenfield Interchange.

It would have also been called "a travesty."

[mgk920]

Drove on westbound I-894 past the Mitchell Interchange where roadwork is ongoing.  They have filled in the former SB Stadium to EB 894 ramp, and the former interchange space is now graded and ready for a mixed-use office/residential complex.  Just like that, the Stadium South interchange officially fades into history.

(sniffle . . . )

Mike