Ives Grove - Expanding
I-94 from six lanes to eight is an essential part of helping the Racine
and Kenosha area grow and will provide needed jobs now, state Reps.
Cory Mason and Robert Turner, both Racine Democrats, said Friday.
Mason and Turner were joined at a news conference by the
International Union of Operating Engineers and others who support the
$1.9 billion project from the Mitchell Interchange in Milwaukee County
south to the Illinois border.
The deadline to send comments to the Federal Highway Administration on the environmental impact of the project is Monday.
Mason said it was important for more voices to be heard in support
of the project, which has faced strong opposition in recent weeks.
Turner said it doesn't make sense to spend $1.7 billion on just
improving the current six lanes when eight lanes will be needed in the
future.
"You can see the congestion now," Turner said.
Some are questioning how much impact the expansion will have on
traffic congestion. The final environmental impact statement prepared
by the state Department of Transportation says that the added lanes
would lead to little change in travel times in Racine and Kenosha
counties, although motorists on some stretches of I-94 in Milwaukee
County would have their drive times reduced by 10 minutes.
"The change in travel times is so insignificant, you cannot justify
a $2 billion project on them," said Steve Hiniker, executive director
of the environmental advocacy agency 1000 Friends of Wisconsin.
"They're minuscule. They put those travel times in more as a political
statement."
Citizens Allied for Sane Highways also has been critical of the DOT
for proposing a large expenditure with little payback. The stated need
to address future congestion is not supported by the facts, according
to that group's assessment.
Hiniker's 1000 Friends, the ACLU of Wisconsin, Midwest Environmental
Advocates and the Sierra Club Great Waters Group expect to submit a
response to the final plans before the Monday deadline. The groups have
combined their resources to challenge the DOT on its projections,
including the findings that the freeway expansion would not increase
emissions through the freeway corridor.
The groups are contemplating legal action in case the Federal
Highway Administration gives the state the OK to go forward with the
proposed expansion.
Federal officials are expected to issue their decision in late May or early June.
"It's a false choice," Mason said of contentions that the expansion
money could be used for a rail link or other options. "That's not
actually the option that's before us."
