Rethink 794: Citizens groups call on Governor Evers to pause wasteful highway spending until study concludes and release environmental data

Milwaukee (July 16) – Rethink 794, a Milwaukee volunteer coalition, and Strong Towns Metro MKE call on Gov. Tony Evers to pause the $10 million Interstate-794 resurfacing project until the ongoing Lake Interchange Study is completed.

The groups also urged Evers to order the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) release Environmental Impact (EIS) data with ample time for public review, comment, and discussion before WisDOT releases its opinion on a preliminary preferred option in the Lake Interchange Study.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is spending $10 million on resurfacing maintenance over the section of elevated highway currently being considered for potential removal and replacement with a boulevard.

“If such option is selected, that $10 million would simply go to waste,” the groups said in their letter to Evers. “Importantly, if that $10 million was deployed to the City of Milwaukee, it could go to fix the recently reported 10,000 potholes the City desperately needs to fix.”

“If this potentially wasteful spending is indicative of a preemptive decision on the part of the Evers Administration before the Environmental Impact Assessment is concluded, such a decision should be announced publicly.”

The groups said the needless, wasteful spending pales in comparison to previously wasted State projects in the name of “urban renewal” that destroyed homes, churches, and businesses – disproportionately impacting thriving minority and low-income neighborhoods in the 1950’s-1980’s. Namely, land was cleared for the Park-West Highway, Downtown Loop-Closure Highway, and Stadium-South Highway, which ultimately were never funded due to resident backlash.

The groups also called on Evers to order WisDOT to release its EIS data on the project well in advance of announcing a preliminary preferred option. It is believed WisDOT plans to announce its preferred option in the near future, but the Environmental Impact data has not been shared transparently with the public. “That data needs to be released well in advance of the opinion to allow ample time for public review, comment, and discussion,” the groups said in their letter to Evers.