I-94 East-West Rebuild - 8 Lanes Please

Below is a copy of feedback I emailed to the Wisconsin DOT after attending a June 15th public involvement meeting at Marquette High School. Before that are some thoughts that came up after the fact. I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Thoughts & Questions

• We hear a lot about road deaths in Wisconsin but they aren't broken down by county or by highway versus road fatalities. My feeling is there are significantly more road deaths on streets versus highways. Anyone know of more detailed available data? It seems like the state could maintain a live map or dashboard of this information similar to what MPD does.
• Lots of commuters to and from Milwaukee are aware of daily traffic jams heading east and west on I-94 and therefore use side streets to bypass the traffic.
• If an expanded highway with steady traffic flow attracts a decent percentage of those commuters thus removing them from side streets, won't that reduce traffic around neighborhoods and increase road safety in Milwaukee? Less people anxious to get home trying to beat yellow lights, etc.
  • What time(s) of day do most fatalities occur?
  • How about vehicle crashes?
  • How many of the deaths are people in cars, motorcycles, or bicycles?

Email to the DOT

Edited to remove a duplicate word.

I would like to see the 8 lane option installed. West bound traffic has been notoriously congested for many years and I know several people that adjust their work schedules and/or driving routes to avoid the worst of it everyday; some have been involved in accidents on side streets on their way home. After viewing the presentation Wednesday at Marquette High School it appears that the project’s footprint remains largely the same both with 6 or 8 lanes but the 8 lanes option will allow for a more steady flow of traffic during peak traffic times each day. Therefore the amount of gasoline vehicles waste idling in traffic is reduced and truckers can get goods from A to B in a more timely fashion.

In regards to the Brewers Way Interchange it should prioritize moving people in and out of the stadium area as quickly, safely, and efficiently as possible both for Brewers fans and highway drivers that happen to be passing by. Currently there are long backups on game days, particularly when coming from the west. It sounds like the ground level North South option will slow down traffic and increase the amount of time it takes drivers to get to businesses in the area south of American Family Field; this seems like a negative to me although the cost savings are excellent. I would be interested to hear what business owners and commuters from that area think as locals may prefer the more inviting street level road compared to the more imposing highway.

I’m glad to see highway ramps universally placed on the right side of I-94 thus allowing the fast lane to maintain a steady, uninterrupted flow. In regards to concerns about the negative effects of pollution on nearby neighborhoods I imagine large amounts of slow moving cars would create larger concentrations of pollution in the area compared to faster moving traffic although this assumption may well be incorrect. Here is one study on the subject that appears to agree with my assumption, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4243514/.

It is vital to the region that bottlenecks along that part of the highway are minimized to allow for the efficient movement of people and goods around our area. Places west of Milwaukee are growing rapidly and the Milwaukee to Madison route connects the state’s two largest metro areas.

Many thanks for your years of work regardless of the final decision; let’s get this built!