Milwaukee mayor favors improving I-794 freeway over removal

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson has made his stance on the Interstate 794 clear: Improve the freeway, but don’t remove it.

The mayor on Wednesday announced he would “prefer an option that will improve the existing roadway.” He added that he will share his views with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the agency leading a study of the corridor launched in 2022.

The spur in question is around a mile long stretch of elevated freeway roughly between the Hoan Bridge and the Milwaukee River downtown. WisDOT is studying several options for the freeway, including slimming down the freeway, maintaining the current structure or removing it and creating an at-grade boulevard.

“The advocates for bringing 794 to street level, they make some really valuable points,” Johnson said. “I agree if we’re dealing with a blank slate, this elevated freeway would be the farthest option from the best option for our downtown. The unfortunate part of that is that we’ve had decades of established traffic patterns and that has limited our ability to make dramatic changes here.”

Johnson cited another WisDOT study that the boulevard option would likely create more traffic congestion to downtown streets. Paired with lift bridges and activity from the summer festival season, the area east of the Milwaukee River “could be completely impassable at times,” he said.

Neighborhoods north and south of downtown would see spillover traffic from the freeway being brought down to grade, Johnson added. Additionally, trucks carrying salt and cargo from Port Milwaukee, which sees around 1,000 trucks each day, would then be “rumbling through neighborhoods across the city.”

Rethink 794, a group pushing to remove the freeway, argued that the existing freeway creates congestion east of the river and in the Third Ward neighborhood. The group has also said that WisDOT’s analysis of a freeway-to-boulevard transformation would be viable and efficient for traffic.

“We maintain that Milwaukee needs solutions that match the scale of the challenges we face,” the group said in a statement. “Rebuilding an elevated freeway, in any capacity, may be the easier choice in the short term. It does not create the same long-term benefits as reimagining this land for reconnection, housing options, and economic development.”

Removal of the freeway could free up 16 acres for development with potential development valued at nearly $500 million by 2050, WisDOT’s study showed. However, partial or reconfiguring the freeway would cost around $675 million to $1.25 billion.

In his remarks, Johnson said the total taxpayer cost of removal was unknown.

In 2024, Rethink 794 shared a 30-year outlook that estimated $1.1 billion in added property value and 3,000 housing units created after removal.

Johnson said there were already large and available tracts of land, including surface level parking lots, that could be developed. A site just to the south of the recently completed Couture would be “very, very, very attractive” for possibly a large-scale company, he added.

The last time the city of Milwaukee demolished a freeway spur was the Park East freeway around 20 years ago. Supporters of removal have pointed to this project as a blueprint for removal and developing the land left behind. However, Johnson said the Park East freeway carried less traffic, making it easier to justify demolition.

The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce on Wednesday announced it supported Johnson’s recommendation. The freeway would be reconstructed without expanding its capacity, with consolidated freeway access ramps and improving connectivity of surface streets. It would also free up developable land and have a lesser impact on traffic patterns.

“The business community has been clear: Milwaukee needs infrastructure that keeps people and commerce moving,” said Dale Kooyenga, president and CEO of MMAC, in a statement. “The mayor’s recommendation addresses a critical transportation need, supports future economic growth and minimizes disruption for residents and businesses alike.”

Currently, the state is working on an environmental impact statement for its options for I-794. When funding and approval is secured, WisDOT will likely start construction in 2030.