Accelerate April 2021 Magazine

APRIL 2021 MAGAZINE 19 If we do not modernize the corridor, the state faces the tough choice between two bad options: a continual cycle of costly Band-Aid solutions – such as another resurfacing (estimated at $40 million-plus) – or a continuing bottleneck at the cost of more than $800 million. Reconstructing this corridor without additional capacity will likely result in a newly constructed freeway that immediately operates several hours each day with severe congestion and unsafe conditions. The Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC) has determined that even if local transit options were to double, it would not be enough to address traffic congestion on the East- West Corridor effectively. Even as our economy recovers from COVID, additional capacity is needed on the corridor. Without additional capacity, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation estimates that a 25 percent reduction in pre-pandemic traffic volumes, with no projected growth in traffic volumes over the project's design life (2050), would be required to maintain an acceptable level of service. As Wisconsin businesses and residents continue to return to some degree of “normal” coming out of the pandemic, it is realistic to expect traffic on this corridor will grow. In the weeks following the “safer at home” order, traffic volumes on the I-94 East-West corridor fell about 45 to 50 percent. However, the latest information shows that corridor traffic is within 10 to 15 percent of 2019 levels despite the continuing pandemic. 19 There are 21,000 businesses and 310,000 jobs within a 5-mile radius of the heart of the East-West corridor, and thousands more in Milwaukee, Waukesha, and beyond rely on the corridor every day. A robust transportation system with convenient and safe highway access is essential to continued economic development and business growth . 17 million tons of freight valued at $25 billion travel through the I-94 East-West Corridor each year. I-94 EW CORRIDOR FACTS & FIGURES