Environmental groups and a Milwaukee religious organization have filed a lawsuit, trying to block a plan by the Wisconsin and federal transportation departments to widen I-94 to eight lanes between 16th and 70th Streets in Milwaukee. The coalition has been seeking safety improvements on that stretch of the East-West freeway, but says those can be done with the current six lanes, three in each direction.
The plaintiffs include Milwaukee Inner City Congregations Allied for Hope (MICAH), 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, the Sierra Club and Milwaukee Riverkeeper.
Dennis Grzezinski is one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs. He tells WUWM’s Chuck Quirmbach that there are several things wrong with the government’s highway plan.
Wisconsin DOT declined an interview, but sent the following statement:
"The I-94 East-West project in Milwaukee County is expected to improve safety and replace the aging infrastructure. Public involvement and community engagement is a critical part of any WisDOT project, including the I-94 East-West project. We continue to actively work with community members and stakeholders to understand their concerns and minimize any impacts to the community. We are proud of the work we’ve done to this point and remain committed to delivering effective transportation solutions for the people of Wisconsin."
