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on this page:
CASH
efforts uphold public's right to know.
WisDOT
invasives
effort still lags.
State
senate votes to block
freeway expansion near Story Hill. |
I-94
North-South interchange costs soar
More wetlands, farmland to be destroyed
Sept.
10, 2007 -- The
cost of rebuilding I-94 interchanges in Racine and Kenosha
counties has shot up 89% since the projects first were
priced in 1996, even though significant property acquisition
costs originally included were eliminated for the new
estimates, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
Costs
were estimated at $122.7 million in 1996 and $232 million
in 2006.
In
addition, far more farmland and wetlands will be destroyed
during reconstruction of the nine interchanges than was
estimated in the 1996 environmental assessment. A total
of 250 acres will be acquired for the interchanges, up
100 acres from the total estimated in 1996.
Runoff
and pollution also will increase, and endangered plant
species will be destroyed.
The
revalations are contained in a re-evaluation
of the original environmental
assessment for the project. The reassessment
was completed in March, but was not posted on WisDOT's
web site until last week, after Citizens Allied for Sane
Highways inquired about its status.*
WisDOT
says the rebuilding the interchanges will not have any
significant environmental impact.
Estimated
costs for rebuilding I-94 interchanges in Racine and Kenosha
Counties
| Interchange |
2006
est.*
(millions) |
1996
est.*
(millions) |
%
change |
| CTH
C |
$28 |
$13.6 |
106% |
| STH
158 |
$26 |
$12 |
117% |
| STH
142 |
$30 |
$18.8 |
60% |
| CTH
E |
$25 |
$13.9 |
80% |
| CTH
KR |
$17 |
$10.8 |
57% |
| STH
11 |
$30 |
$13.6 |
121% |
| STH
20 |
$29 |
$10 |
190% |
| CTH
K |
$25 |
$17.7 |
41% |
| CTH
G |
$22 |
$12.3 |
79% |
| Total |
$232.0 |
$122.7 |
89% |
While
the 1996 estimates included land acquisition costs,
the 2006 estimates do not include real estate costs
associated with CTH KR, STH 11 or CTH K.
The
state is currently studying reconstruction of I-94 from
south of the state line to the Holt Ave. exit in Milwaukee.
WisDOT has long considered reconstruction of the interchanges
and reconstruction of the pieces of freeway connecting
them to be separate projects.
Now, however, the agency also has decided that the reconstruction
of three interchanges included in the 1996 environmental
assessment should not be included in the 2006 review.
They are each considered individual projects.
Those
interchanges and the reasons they are being considered
separately, according to WisDOT:
•
STH 50—an environmental assessment re-evaluation
for the STH 50 interchange was already approved in 2004.
Construction is planned to begin in 2009. The STH 50
interchange was expected in 1996 to cost $23.8 million
to rebuild, the most expensive all the interchanges.
Updated figures were not immediately available.
•
Seven Mile Road—this interchange is not moving
into design phase of planning yet. It will be the subject
of a separate re-evaluation when it does. The project
in 1996 was expected to cost $18.4 million.
•
27th Street (STH 241) — Minor improvements were
proposed for this interchange during the 1996 study,
although WisDOT and the Federal Highway Administration
are evaluating the conversion of the existing half-interchange
(access to and from the south only) to a full interchange
as part of the 1-94 North-South Corridor Study. The
minor improvements in 1996 were projected to cost $1.3
million.
The
new WisDOT report indicates a total of 12 residences
and nine businesses will be destroyed for the new interchanges
included in both studies; the 1996 report indicated
that 10 homes and five businesses would be torn down.
A
total of 133 acres of farmland would be acquired at
the nine areas, according to the new report, up 53 acres
from the 1996 estimate.
"The
increase is caused by changes in the proposed interchange
design and acquisition of additional right-of-way for
stormwater detention ponds," according to the report.
"The number of farm operations affected, severances,
and access changes are expected to remain similar to
those reported in the 1996 EA because the proposed interchange
reconstruction concepts have not changed."
The
new report said that about 26 acres of wetlands will
be affected by the project, more than double the 12.1
acres anticipated in the 1996 report.
The
proposed reconstruction projects also will substantially
increase the amount of impervious surface and water
runoff, according to the new report.
"At
the CTH E interchange, which is representative of most
of the interchanges in the study area, the existing
paved area (not including private driveways and parking
lots) is approximately 11 acres, not including 1-94.
The proposed reconstruction would result in about 20
acres of paved area," the report said.
The
agency is investigating ways to mitigate the impact
of the additional runoff and pollution, the report said.
"Threatened
and endangered plant species would be affected at the
CTH C and CTH G interchanges, the report said. "At
the CTH C interchange, five distinct areas containing
between 25 and 5,000+ of the state endangered plant,
seaside crowfoot (Ranunculus cymbalaria), were identified
in 2006. Plants in four of the five areas would be destroyed.
The fifth area could potentially be avoided. At the
CTH G interchange the special concern plant, reflexed
trillium (trillium recurvatum), is scattered throughout
three quadrants of the interchange. Many of the locations
would not be affected, but some of the plants would
likely be destroyed."
*Full
disclosure: storyhill.net editor Gretchen Schuldt is
CASH co-chair.
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See
also our I-94
North-South pages.
CASH
efforts uphold public's right to know
July
23,
2007 -- The public’s right to know what
its government is doing won a major boost with the rejection
by the state attorney general’s office of a Doyle
Administration argument that some documents prepared for
the governor are automatically “drafts” and
do not have to be made public, according to Citizens Allied
for Sane Highways.
“The Doyle administration’s argument was an
attempt to put government above and out of reach of the
public,” CASH co-chair Gretchen Schuldt said.* “The
attorney general’s office is exactly right on this
one.”
CASH is a coalition formed to oppose freeway expansion
in Milwaukee.
In October, CASH sought from DOA records related to the
delay in the development of the 2007-09 state transportation
budget. DOA Chief Legal Counsel John Rothschild refused
the request in part because, he argued, budget-related
documents prepared for the governor are for his “personal
use” and thus not subject to public disclosure under
the open records law.
“DOA
was arguing for an extraordinary and unnecessary degree
of secrecy,” Schuldt said.
CASH asked the attorney general’s office to review
the matter, and Assistant Attorney General Maureen McGlynn
Flanagan said this month that Rothschild erred.
“I
agree with you that such a broad statement – that
documents prepared by DOA’s budget office in preparation
of the budget can categorically be identified as ‘drafts’
and are, therefore, not ‘records’….is
contrary to the document-bydocument analysis that is required,”
McGlynn Flanagan wrote in a letter to CASH.
Schuldt said she was gratified by McGlynn Flanagan’s
finding.
“DOA
was trying to establish a dangerous precedent that threatened
open government in Wisconsin,” Schuldt said.
Schuldt also thanked Midwest Environmental Advocates,
a non-profit environmental law firm, for its assistance
in the matter.
*Full
disclosure: Schuldt is storyhill.net editor.
WisDOT
invasives effort
still lags
Budget boost may help to "some
degree"
July
2, 2007 -- The
State Department of Transportation may not fully resume
invasive species control efforts even if it gets the $66.3
million increase in the highway maintenance budget proposed
by Gov. Doyle, a department spokeswoman said.
WisDOT
in 2004
essentially dropped efforts to control invasives, even
those the department is required by law to control.
"If
the budget as currently intact after JFC (Joint Finance
Committee) were enacted, our current effort would increase
to some degree, but we are not able to be specific as
to what extent it might change," WisDOT Director
of Public Affairs Peg Schmitt said in an e-mail. "The
appropriation covers a wide array of services and priorization
of activities is done once funding levels are established."
These invasive thistles began appearing along
I-94 a few years ago. WisDOT did nothing to control or
eradicate them.
Some
funds are already spoken for, she said. "We have
been asked to make certain commitments already...related
to keeping existing roadway lighting systems maintained,
catching up on some regulatory and warning signs, and
addressing work zone delays for maintenance activities,"
she wrote.
Gov.
Doyle proposed a $429 million 2007-09 highway maintenance
budget, which thus far has survived the legislative process.
That is $66.3 million more than the 2005-07 budget, according
to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
Last
year, the Legislature's "Road to the Future"
Committee recommended a $44 million annual increase in
highway maintenance funding, including $2 million to allow
WisDOT to resume noxious weed control and maintenance
of roadside facilities, according to the LFB. The boost
recommended by Doyle, though, did not include that amount.
Schmitt
said the department now does some "quite limited"
invasive species control efforts, though she did not say
what they were.
Now they are taking over the Bluff Park hill.
Thanks, WisDOT!
"We
are actively involved in the Governor's Council on Invasive
Species and pursue those things that we can to assist
in addressing this problem," she said. "I'm
told the experts on the council seem to be headed toward
decisions as to which invasives offer the best chance
for success, and may conclude that certain efforts at
control are wasted since the battles may be lost or unwinnable."
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State
senate moves to block freeway expansion near Story Hill
June
26, 2007 -- The State Senate voted Tuesday to
block freeway expansion on I-94 near Story Hill.
The
vote was part of a budget bill adopted, 18-15, along a
party line vote with Democrats in the majority. The measure
would prohibit the addition of lanes on I-94 adjacent
to Wood National Cemetery between Hawley Road and the
Stadium Interchange.
The
budget bill, including the freeway language, is a long
way from becoming law. The State Assembly, where Republicans
are the majority, will adopt its own budget, then differences
between the Senate and Assembly versions will be hammered
out in a conference committee.
Gov.
Jim Doyle also must approve the final product. The governor
has broad veto over individual items contained in the
bill.
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