27th Street group slams I-94 North-South statement

Feb. 4 -- The State Department of Transportation did not adequately explain its proposals for the 27th St./I-894 interchange in a draft Environental Impact Statememt, according to a business group.

WisDOT's presentation of alternative scenarios for the interchange were "unclear and difficult for the public to decipher throughout the EIS process," attorneys Douglas B. Clark and Brian H. Potts wrote on behalf of the 27th Street Business District Association.

Clark and Potts are with the Foley & Lardner law firm.

WisDOT's work on the DEIS for the proposed unfunded $1.9 billion North-South I-94 expansion project was so bad, they said, that the agency should revise the draft and circulate it again for public comment.

In maps attached the impact statement, they said,"there is no mention of closing ramps to/from I-94—even though this would clearly be a primary issue of concern for the affected public."

WisDOT has proposed closing the 27th Street ramp serving drivers driving northbound through the Mitchell Interchange.
Businesses and institutions along the the business corridor believe the state's plan will damage the business corridor.

The business association agrees with the city's contention that WisDOT should have better analyzed transit options, according to the letter.

In addition, wrote Clark and Potts in their response to the draft EIS, "a rigorous analysis will demonstrate that reducing and eliminating interstate access from/to 27th Street will have a substantial negative economic impact on local businesses. But the DEIS does not determine or discuss in any detail the social, economic or environmental impacts associated with the proposed options at the 27th Street/I-894 interchange."

The two, like others, criticized WisDOT's air pollution and environmental justice analyses as inadequate.

"The 27th Street/I-894 interchange proposal disproportionately burdens minority and low-income persons, yet this was not addressed in the DEIS," the lawyers said. "Moreover, these groups were not adequately informed of the proposed changes to the interchange, as the DEIS maps posted on WisDOT’s website do not indicate the full extent of these proposed changes."

To read more about concerns about the 27th St. interchange plan, click here and here and here and here.

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