If I-794 is removed, downtown's Clybourn Street lift bridge would likely be replaced

If downtown Milwaukee's Interstate 794 is replaced by surface streets, the Clybourn Street bridge would likely be redesigned to reduce the number of lifts − a key factor in combatting congestion.

That's according to recent comments made to a County Board panel by Wisconsin Department of Transportation officials and consultants.

Clybourn Street, which currently has one-way traffic west of North Van Buren Street, would be converted to a two-way boulevard if I-794 was removed between the Hoan Bridge and a few blocks west of the Milwaukee River. It would play a big role in handling diverted traffic.

That raises the question of whether the street's portion over the river would continue to use a lift bridge, or be replaced by a fixed bridge.

The Journal Sentinel reported in December that an answer would emerge in 2024 when I-794 project alternatives are narrowed.

It now seems officials are leaning against building a fixed bridge high enough for boats to pass beneath it.

A fixed bridge would eliminate bridge lifts − which create traffic backups on summer afternoons when boating peaks.

But it would likely extend from North Water Street to North Plankinton Avenue − hampering traffic on those roads.

Officials working on the I-794 project say a freeway removal option would likely feature a Clybourn Street lift bridge that provides more clearance for boats.

"For all practical purposes right now we are assuming it will be a new lift bridge structure," said Mike Hammond, planning section manager HNTB Corp., a WisDOT project consultant.

"But we are evaluating and working with the United States Coast Guard to see what we can do to either minimize or avoid those openings," Hammond told members of the County Board's Committee on Transportation and Transit.

"We're currently studying the height of the clearance of that bridge," added Dave Pittman, WisDOT's I-794 project manager, during the Tuesday presentation.

WisDOT last year disclosed seven conceptual plans to repair I-794 and two plans to remove it.

Along with a freeway removal option, the agency by summer plans to narrow those plans to one option to rebuild freeway bridges within I-794's current alignment and keep all existing freeway access ramps, and another option to rebuild bridges with a tightened alignment that consolidates ramps.

After gathering additional public input, WisDOT plans to choose a preferred alternative by the end of 2024.

Final design work is to occur in 2025 and 2026, with construction work from 2027 through 2030 if the $300 million project obtains federal and state funding.

Rethink I-794, a group supporting the freeway's removal, says Clybourn Street, Michigan Street and other roads − including newly extended streets − can accommodate the diverted traffic.

Removing the freeway would open 15 to 18 acres for commercial development − and tear down a barrier between downtown, the lakefront and the Third Ward.

Downtown business interests, as well as officials from St. Francis, Cudahy and South Milwaukee, fear removing part of I-794 would clog nearby surface streets and greatly lengthen commutes.

The freeway sections that would be repaired date to 1974. They weren't touched when part of I-794 was reconstructed from 2013 through 2016 — a $239 million project that included rebuilding the Hoan Bridge's concrete deck.

None of WisDOT's plans call for removing the Hoan.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, X and Facebook.

Subscribe to get the BusinessWatch email newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: An I-794 removal would likely bring a new downtown Milwaukee bridge