Opponents of replacing part of downtown Milwaukee’s Interstate 794 with a surface road − freeing up 16 acres for development − have just gained a powerful ally: Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
Johnson is supporting a proposal that would reconfigure part of I-794 but leave the elevated freeway intact.
That would create a much smaller development site. It also prevents the likelihood of increased traffic congestion tied to removing the freeway, according to removal opponents.
The mayor announced his decision during a July 8 press conference at City Hall. He said the prospects for additional developable land are outweighed by the potential downtown gridlock.
The congestion would be particularly noticeable during summer, Johnson said, when Milwaukee River bridges are frequently lifted for boats and festival season attracts large crowds.
Johnson’s approach is shortsighted, and prioritizes convenience ahead of what’s best for Milwaukee, said Taylor Korslin, who represents Rethink 794, a group of urbanists, environmentalists, and others who support removing the freeway.
“If you want to be bold about 1 million Milwaukeeans and the Year of Housing, this corridor is where to start,” Korslin said − referencing two of the mayor’s policy goals.
Johnson will submit his recommendation to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, which is considering four options for repairs to the aging freeway.
“I’m the mayor of the city, so hopefully it carries a lot,” he said.
Johnson’s recommendation doesn’t mean freeway removal is off the table, Korslin said. But he believes what the mayor supports is a “default compromise” that WisDOT will likely embrace.
Final freeway redesign plan expected in 2027
The department is to choose a plan in 2027, followed by final design work and a possible 2030 construction start if the project obtains federal and state funding.
One option being studied by WisDOT calls for replacing I-794 between roughly North Sixth Street and the Hoan Bridge’s northern approach, near East Buffalo Street, with an expanded two-way Clybourn Street and extensions of North Cass Street and East St. Paul Avenue.
That would open up 16 acres for development.
Two other options focus on improvements that include reconfiguring on- and off-ramps, and extending Cass Street and St. Paul Avenue – opening up 5 acres for development. A fourth option would make freeway repairs with no ramp changes.
Some downtown property owners and business operators oppose replacing the freeway with surface streets. They’re concerned that would bring traffic congestion, including within the Historic Third Ward.
A WisDOT analysis, released in November, forecasts more congestion at several downtown intersections if the freeway is removed.
That would be exacerbated by frequent Clybourn Street bridge lifts during the summer boating season. Also, congestion would increase on freeways that connect to I-794, according to WisDOT.
WisDOT says keeping an elevated freeway is a key factor in reducing car crashes on surface streets compared with removing the freeway. The agency also says freeway removal would bring longer street crossing distances for pedestrians.
I-794 is underused, removal supporters say
Freeway removal supporters, led by Rethink 794, say I-794 is underused and downtown streets can handle increased traffic.
They cite the Park East Freeway’s replacement by development on downtown’s northern edge as well as similar projects in other cities.
WisDOT’s analysis assumes drivers wouldn’t adapt to freeway changes and find other ways around the removed I-794, Korslin said.
Johnson, however, said the Park East Freeway had very little traffic. That’s not the case for I-794, he said.
Johnson also said downtown has “dozens and dozens of acres,” including parking lots, that are potential development sites.
The freeway removal’s long-term development potential includes 470 to 850 residential units; 330 to 600 hotel rooms, and 300,000 to 500,000 square feet of offices, WisDOT said in a study released in April.
That would total an estimated $270 million to $490 million of new development by 2050.
The two options of reconfiguring the freeway carry a development potential of 490 residential units, 340 hotel rooms, and 315,000 square feet of offices – totaling $280 million.
But Rethink 794 says reconfiguring I-794, instead of removing it, would create underwhelming development sites near freeway off-ramps.
The group cites a 2.7-acre development site WisDOT owns at North Lincoln Memorial Drive and East Clybourn Street. It’s been vacant for several years.
WisDOT estimates the freeway configuration options would cost an estimated $675 million to $1 billion, and take two to four years to complete.
The freeway removal option has an estimated cost of $850 million to $1.25 billion, and take four to six years.
Improvements are needed because some freeway sections date to 1974, WisDOT says.
They weren’t touched when part of I-794 was reconstructed from 2013 through 2016 — a $239 million project that included rebuilding the Hoan Bridge’s concrete deck. The bridge is not part of the current improvement plans.
(This is a developing story that’s being updated.)
Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram,Bluesky, X and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Downtown’s I-794 should be reworked, not replaced, Mayor Johnson says
Reporting by Tom Daykin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tom Daykin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
