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WisDOT starts WIS 175 study
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation announced a study that will look at the future of WIS 175 between West Wisconsin Avenue and Lisbon Avenue in Milwaukee.
MILWAUKEE - Officials with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) on Wednesday, May 4 announced the start of a study that will look at the future of WIS 175 between West Wisconsin Avenue and Lisbon Avenue in Milwaukee.
It could mean a possible new look and improvements for the aging 1.5-mile stretch of freeway, which most people know as the Stadium Spur, that was originally constructed 60 years ago.
"A road is really a lot more than asphalt and concrete and steel. It really is about the community and quality of life of people in the area," said WisDOT Secretary Craig Thompson.
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Bicyclist Benjamin Newman said he is looking forward to seeing change.
"This is very wide – the two lanes of traffic in each direction, and there's nothing to make motorists slow down, follow the speed limit, so they don’t," he said.
WIS 175 "Stadium Spur" freeway in Milwaukee
The WisDOT study is the first step toward reconstruction and improvement plans. That study is expected to recommend a solution to address safety and mobility concerns for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists in the surrounding neighborhoods.
"Currently this freeway serves as a dividing line between these neighborhoods solely for the use of cars," said Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
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WisDOT study to look at future of WIS 175 between Wisconsin Avenue and Lisbon Avenue
Officials with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) announce the start of a study that will look at the future of WIS 175 between West Wisconsin Avenue and Lisbon Avenue in Milwaukee.
Johnson and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley also discussed the division that highways have created in the past.
"Those decisions used transportation infrastructure to reinforce segregated, to divide our communities and isolate people from economic opportunity," Crowley said.
WIS 175 "Stadium Spur" freeway in Milwaukee
Moving forward, leaders said they'd like to see public input on ways to update the Stadium Spur. What the updates will look like are still unclear.
"It doesn’t have to come at the cost of communities of color. We can take a different approach than we have in the past by making sure community voices are included," said Crowley.
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"We’re still in the process. I’ve seen renderings of different things that we’re looking at right now. We’re not to any final decision yet," said Thompson.
WisDOT said the first phase of the project will cost $2-3 million.