Alderman accuses major employers of blocking I-794 removal as downtown 2040 plan advances to final vote

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A vision for what downtown Milwaukee will look like in 2040 is now one vote away from becoming official.

However, it is unclear whether that vision will ultimately include Interstate 794, and during a meeting Tuesday, an alderman suggested two major downtown employers were privately working to block removal of the freeway.

The common council's zoning, neighborhoods and development committee voted unanimously to approve the 'Connecting MKE Downtown Plan 2040.'

The presentation, spearheaded by the Department of City Devlopment and the city's downtown business improvement district, includes a number of lofty goals.

They include more than doubling the number of downtown residents from about 17,000 to 40,000, adding 15,000 new housing units downtown and working toward having 100,000 jobs contained within the city center.

To get there, the plan includes 40 different suggestions, including nine 'catalytic projects.'

Among those major projects are:

• Rebuilding Water St. with narrower streets and dedicated bus lanes
• Major changes to 6th St. between the near north side and Walker's Point, including protected bike lanes and large bus shelters
• Exploring the eventual removal of the I-794 Lake Interchange and converting the elevated freeway into a street connected with the rest of the downtown grid

The description in the I-794 section rankled Ald. Bob Bauman, who called it "weasel language."

He referred to a section that read, "If full removal is not feasible via this current project, any interim alternative should prioritize modernization of the infrastructure."

"It's absolutely feasible," Bauman said. "It's a political question."

Planners acknowledged the I-794 portion of the plan had generated the most public feedback over the last two years, and they noted most comments were in support of tearing down the freeway.

Bauman suggested two major downtown employers, Northwestern Mutual and US Bank, were pressuring the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to avoid full freeway removal.

"My worry is we're being disingenuous with the public out there," Bauman said during the meeting. "We are telling them, 'Here's our goal, we're gonna fight like hell to achieve it' when secretly, behind the scenes, we're saying, 'Well, not really because NML doesn't like it, or US Bank doesn't like it.'"

The office towers for Northwestern Mutual and US Bank are the two tallest buildings in Wisconsin, and they're both next to the freeway. Spokespersons for both companies did not respond to questions Tuesday.

Bauman told a CBS 58 reporter after the meeting he had not directly heard from representatives of the company but added in a private meeting earlier this summer, "corporate interests" told him he was "crazy" to support tearing down the freeway.

"I think there's reluctance, if not outright opposition, from many business interests downtown who are opposed to it," Bauman said. "And will actively work with [the Wisconsin] DOT to oppose it."

When asked why he specifically called out Northwestern Mutual and US Bank, Bauman said he hadn't talked to them directly, and added "strong inference based on history" led him to suspect they were working to keep the freeway.

Both companies have executives serving on the downtown district's board, Downtown Milwaukee, BID #21.

"I have not had one board member tell me they are opposed to tearing down 794," the district's CEO, Beth Weirick, said in an interview after the meeting.

Critics of freeway removal have questioned whether it would create downtown bottlenecks, discouraging people from visiting businesses in the area. Another concern is whether people currently commuting from the suburbs would want to keep making that trip without I-794. 

Supporters maintain tearing down the freeway would connect the East Town and Third Ward neighborhoods while freeing up highly desirable land for new development. 

City development officials told Bauman they're still working on a final estimate for how much new assessed land value would be created by removing the freeway, but they said Tuesday that number would be more than $500 million. 

WisDOT estimates about 70,000 cars travel the stretch of I-794 through East Town. Any plans for changing I-794 keep the Hoan Bridge intact; it's just a question of what happens to the portion between the Milwaukee River and Lincoln Memorial Dr. 

WisDOT last month shared a series of nine different options for revamping the Lake Interchange. Six of them call for rebuilding the freeway with varying changes to entrances, exits and nearby streets. Two call for removing the freeway, and one calls for rebuilding the freeway structure as it's currently designed.

"Next week, there's two public hearings," Weirick said. "There's plenty of opportunity for the public to engage and look at all nine of those options."

Those WisDOT public feedback sessions are scheduled for next Tuesday, August 1 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Milwaukee Marriott Downtown and Wednesday, August 2 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at St. Thomas More High School.

People are able to submit online comments here.

The full common council will vote to approve the 2040 downtown plan at its meeting Monday, July 31.