MILWAUKEE – In response to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s announcement Friday afternoon that the state will move forward with a proposal to widen I-94 to eight lanes along the East-West corridor between 70th Street and 16th Street in Milwaukee County, Rep. Jonathan Brostoff (D-Milwaukee) released the following statement:
“To put it plainly, the Department of Transportation’s announcement on Friday that they plan to widen I-94 to eight lanes as part of the ongoing Stadium Interchange reconstruction project moves us in the wrong direction. While maintenance and upgrades are clearly needed along that corridor, adding additional lanes is unnecessary, adds additional cost, pollution, and quality-of-life concerns, and has been roundly opposed by local community members, who have been exceedingly clear in their support of the ‘Fix at Six’ approach.
At a time when our communities are clamoring for multimodal transit options, pedestrian and bike safety improvements, and a shift away from car supremacy, expanding I-94 to eight lanes moves us in the wrong direction. I urge the DOT to instead commit to redirecting the millions of additional dollars it would cost to expand I-94 towards making much-needed improvements across the region.
The DOT has an opportunity to redirect funds away from a backwards, environmentally disastrous ‘car is king’ mentality, and towards improvements that would do generational good in our communities. I strongly urge the DOT to reconsider this proposal, and I encourage local stakeholders to attend one or both of the community meetings on this project to make their opposition to this approach known.”
