December 20, 2024

By Lane Kimble

You can check off another box on the list of requirements needed to start construction on the I-39/90/94 freeway expansion.

This week WisDOT announced it filed a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and received a Record of Decision (ROD) from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).  The filings also list a preferred alternative for the massive project.

WisDOT intends to add a lane in both directions along a 67-mile stretch between Madison and Wisconsin Dells.

The plans would also rebuild more than a dozen interchanges, create three new ones, replace bridges, and raise the road to avoid flooding concerns, among other improvements.

The Wisconsin Transportation Projects Commission last week approved adding the I-39/90/94 expansion to the upcoming budget process.  Doing so does not guarantee the project happens, but allows the governor and Legislature to debate whether and how to fund it.

Recent estimates put the overall cost at $3.7 billion and it could take more than 20 years to complete.