Part of Stadium Freeway/Highway 175 could be converted to 4-lane boulevard under new plan

Much of a roughly 1½-mile stretch of Milwaukee's Stadium Freeway could be converted into a four-lane boulevard that connects with other city streets under new plans.

The freeway, also known as Wisconsin Highway 175, would be decommissioned between Wisconsin and Lisbon avenues under Wisconsin Department of Transportation proposals. That work, if it receives state funding, is likely years from happening.

WisDOT unveiled several conceptual alternatives Tuesday during an open house at the Washington Park Senior Center that drew hundreds of residents.

Alternatives include a tunnel to carry traffic through part of the former freeway corridor.

Another possibility would maintain the six-lane, limited-access highway, which is nearing the end of its life before needing reconstruction.

A new boulevard would better connect neighborhoods on Milwaukee's west side separated by the freeway, and accommodate pedestrians, cyclists and buses along with motorists, the proposal's supporters say.

Replacing the freeway with a street grid also would provide opportunities to develop new housing − adding to the city's population and its tax base.

The conceptual plans show upward of 30 acres being made available for public space or development.

WisDOT's Reimagining Wisconsin 175 Study "presents an opportunity to reconnect residents and neighborhoods that were historically divided due to urban renewal and interstate development," Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said.

"I will support a plan that helps address public safety and reckless driving, boosts economic development, and enhances community connectivity with recreational areas and greenspace," Crowley said, in a statement.

Highway 175 part of larger freeway network that was dropped

WisDOT officials say the decommissioning plans may be feasible because the freeway appears to provide more capacity than needed for the number of vehicles that use the road. A detailed traffic analysis is in the works.

Stadium Freeway North, constructed in 1962, was part of a larger planned freeway network that wasn't built.

Not everyone likes the idea of removing the freeway.

It has a significant traffic load, said Jonathan Rupprecht, who lives in the Washington Heights neighborhood. A surface street that replaces it would face traffic congestion, he said.

WisDOT is studying the freeway alternatives with officials from the Milwaukee Department of Public Works and Milwaukee County Department of Transportation, and continues gathering public input.

That will include another public open house this winter, said Doug Cain, WisDOT project manager. He said the agency will refine plans to two or three alternatives before issuing a final study next spring.

That could then be the basis for seeking state funding for the project, Cain said. It isn't known yet whether that funding might be approved by the Legislature in the 2025-'27 state budget cycle.

Stadium Freeway North connects to Interstate 94 just south of Wisconsin Avenue.

WisDOT's $1.74 billion reconstruction and expansion of I-94 on Milwaukee's west side is to begin in late 2025.

That project includes replacing the Stadium Interchange with a diverging diamond interchange. That type of interchange is typically used to accommodate a major surface street intersecting a limited-access freeway.

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

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Part of Milwaukee freeway near American Family Field could be removed