Wisconsin Launches $1.7 Billion I-94 East-West Reconstruction Project

KEY POINTS

• The $1.7 billion I-94 East-West Reconstruction project started construction to modernize 3.5 miles of I-94, including the Stadium Interchange and multiple key interchanges in Milwaukee County.

• Upgrades include expanded lanes, safer ramp configurations, improved drainage, lighting, and enhanced pedestrian access.

• Construction phases ensure traffic flow, balancing safety, cost, and logistical challenges while helping support Wisconsin’s nonresidential construction industry through 2033.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) announced it had begun the Interstate 94 East-West reconstruction project, a $1.7 billion initiative designed to modernize a 3.5-mile stretch of one of the state’s most heavily traveled corridors.

Initial Construction Activities

Initial activity began the first week of November, with lane closures, marking the first stage of a multi-phase plan that will extend through 2033. The infrastructure project will expand I-94 from three to four lanes in each direction and rebuild aging interchanges.

Stadium Interchange and Corridor Upgrades

The project focuses on the Stadium Interchange while upgrading safety features and enhancing connections throughout the corridor.

Initially constructed in the 1960s, this segment of I-94 has exceeded its design life, with significant pavement and bridge deterioration, outdated designs, and a crash rate far above the statewide average. Environmental analysis began in 2012 for the replacement project, and design work started on the build in 2022. 

The Milwaukee project spans roughly 3.5 miles of I-94  from 70th Street to 16th Street. It encompasses the Stadium Interchange (WIS 175/WIS 341/Brewer Blvd) as well as interchanges at 70th Street/68th Street, Hawley Road, Mitchell Boulevard, 35th Street, and 26th Street/St. Paul Avenue. Image: WisDOT

Key Improvements in Design and Safety

WisDOT’s construction plan includes a complete corridor replacement. The plans will reconfigure hazardous left-hand ramps into safer right-hand exits, upgrade drainage systems, and add retaining structures.

Plans also call for enhanced lighting and improved pedestrian access for a more connected, less congested, and secure transportation network.

Phased Delivery Strategy

The corridor carries between 158,000 and 178,000 vehicles daily, according to state data, making full closure impractical. WisDOT’s construction plan is implemented in overlapping phases to maintain traffic flow and minimize disruptions to the community.

The project phasing balances safety, cost control, and logistical feasibility while accommodating existing utilities, railroad lines, cemeteries, and rights-of-way.

You can view an I-94 East-West Corridor project overview in this flyover video. Video: WisDOT

Phasing also aligns with WisDOT’s fiscal management approach, which involves coordinating state and federal funding cycles across the decade. Extending the schedule, officials noted, helps mitigate construction inflation, supply chain limitations, and workforce capacity challenges of the heavy civil sector.

The I-94 East-West rebuild represents a substantial workload for Wisconsin’s nonresidential construction and engineering markets through the next decade. The project will require extensive coordination among contractors, subcontractors, and building product manufacturers.

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