Plans & Projects > Find by location > SE Region > SE freeway system > I-94 corridor >

I-94 North-South corridor study - need

Traffic | Crashes | Design

The I-94 North-South corridor was first built in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Today, safety issues, pavement and design deficiencies, and traffic congestion require full reconstruction and redesign. 

Much of the corridor has been resurfaced three times. Additional resurfacings are not cost effective and will not address long-term pavement needs.

Increased traffic 

WisDOT's 2002 traffic counts in the corridor range from a low of 74,400 daily vehicles in Kenosha County to over 143,000 daily vehicles near Grange Avenue in Milwaukee County. The 1.5-mile WIS 119 airport spur carries about 26,800 vehicles daily as well. Traffic counts have grown steadily in the past years, with Kenosha County seeing the highest growth.

About 1.3 million people, 28,500 businesses and 595,000 jobs are in these three counties combined. About one in six residents, businesses or jobs are in close proximity to the corridor.

WisDOT has services available to help traffic flow as smoothly as possible under these high-volume conditions:

• Park and ride lots
• RIDESHARE
• Traffic cameras
• Gateway safety patrols
• Message boards
• Ramp metering (Milwaukee County)
• Ramp barricades during incidents

Return to top

Crashes 

From 2000 to 2003, an average of 2.2 crashes occurred in the corridor each day. 

Figures indicate number of crashes from 2000 to 2003 involving injuries or fatalities, not the number of persons injured or killed.

Outdated design 

The Mitchell Interchange handles over 195,000 vehicles per day and includes a mixture of left and right exits. Quick merging and weaving are necessary at the 27th Street and airport exits. 

Scissor ramps are also located along the corridor and involve vehicles leaving the freeway onto a frontage road. Vehicles already on the frontage road need to stop and wait for a clearing in vehicles exiting the freeway in order to continue.

Example of a scissor ramp.

Return to top

Questions about the content of this page:
Emlynn Grisar, dotsefreeways94nsc@dot.state.wi.us
Last modified: April 3, 2008