The past few months have seen much debate over the 27th Street exit on Interstate 894 as part of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s reconstruction and expansion project of I-94 from the Mitchell Interchange to the state border.
The debate is an important one, impacting people’s homes and businesses. With much at stake, the debate has become understandably heated. The problem with heated debates, however, is that often times facts get fried.
First and foremost, there is a belief that as a result of this plan, the 27th Street exit will be closed completely. This statement is misleading and fails to tell the whole story.
While it is true that the exit to 27th Street along westbound I-894 for traffic coming from the south will close under current WisDOT plans, all other access to South 27th Street will remain as it does today. As the Small Business Times reported in the BizTimes Real Estate Weekly bulletin, “Southbound traffic coming from the downtown area and eastbound traffic coming from the west would still be able to exit at 27th Street.” Businesses and homes along 27th Street will remain completely accessible to those exits.
This is an important point, because the access points that will remain open to 27th Street are those most heavily traveled. According to information from our city engineer, approximately 16,000 vehicles exit I-894 via S. 27th Street every day, but only 1,500 of those cars – less than 10 percent – utilize the exit that would be closed.
This means the vast majority of vehicles that currently use the 27th Street exit to reach the homes and businesses along this corridor will still be able to under the current plan.
Second, I cannot support a plan that destroys people’s homes. The alternate proposal WisDOT considered in an effort to maintain full access at South 27th Street would have required the demolition of ten single-family homes and two 8-unit apartment buildings.
Forcing people from their homes and reducing the city’s property tax base are not alternatives I can support. That is why I have – from day one of this project – urged the state Department of Transportation to design a freeway that not only improves safety and the flow of traffic, but one that avoids the destruction of people’s homes.
Which leads to the third and final point: the City of Milwaukee has been engaged throughout this process and has consistently urged WisDOT to produce a plan for 27th Street that is fair to business owners and residents in the area. My commissioner of public works and my city engineer made this point in a letter to WisDOT on Aug. 21, 2007, and in conversations throughout the 27th Street debate. My message has been perfectly clear: keep 27th Street fully open, AND don’t destroy people’s homes.
Any suggestion that the City of Milwaukee has not fought for this issue is either unfair or uninformed. I understand that when people’s businesses and homes are involved, debate can become heated and facts can get fried. But cooler heads must prevail.
As mayor, I will continue to push WisDOT for a plan that keeps all of 27th Street open AND saves people’s homes. Those who agree should stand with me.
Tom Barret is the mayor of Milwaukee.
