September 7, 2025

By Lane Kimble

Years of research, public meetings, and planning will become something tangible next week as WisDOT opens the first two significant portions of the I-94 East-West expansion for bids.

The Sept. 9 let features items 006 and 007, which are the west leg between 70th Street and Zablocki Drive and early east leg from 30th to 25th streets, respectively.

Both items had mandatory pre-bid meetings at State Fair Park last month.  They both include significant amounts of grading, aggregate, asphalt, concrete, pavement marking, traffic control and more.

The massive I-94 project will widen an aging and congested 3 ½ mile stretch of I-94 running past American Family Field from six to eight lanes.  The latest WisDOT estimates put the overall project cost at $1.76 billion.  WTBA members including Jacobs and HNTB are the lead consultants on the project.

Construction will begin this fall and is scheduled for completion in 2032.

The Sept. 9 let includes 27 overall projects, marking the most proposals since May.