February 10, 2023

By Lane Kimble

The WTBA Board of Directors hit the ground running in 2023, working through a packed agenda that included some valuable updates and notable guests at its first meeting of the year.

Continuing its efforts to meet members in all parts of the state, the Board traveled to Milwaukee on Tuesday.

First out of the gates was Senior Project Manager Jeff Bauer with Jacobs Solutions Inc., providing a better sense of where a proposed and much-needed widening of I-94 in Milwaukee currently stands.

It was a fitting place to start, given many in attendance had driven along that very stretch of road to arrive, some delayed by backups on the way into the city.

The East-West Corridor proposal has been in the works for years, but expanding the roughly 3.5-mile stretch past American Family Field from six to eight lanes has faced some local pushback.

WisDOT held its latest public meeting on the matter in December and wrapped up an extended public comment period Jan. 31. Bauer says WisDOT’s next step is to sift through upwards of 2,500 of those public comments – more than half of which he estimates are in support of the expansion. Bauer thanked WTBA members for their efforts in providing such comments.