MILWAUKEE— Three Milwaukee Common Council members are publicly opposing Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s preferred vision for the future of I-794, arguing the elevated freeway should be replaced with a street-level boulevard instead.
In a joint statement released Monday, Alderman Alex Brower, Alderman Bob Bauman and Alderman Sharlen Moore said they support removing the stretch of I-794 between the Marquette and Lake interchanges rather than rebuilding the elevated freeway.
The statement comes less than a week after Mayor Johnson said he supports WisDOT’s proposal to reconstruct and modernize the freeway instead of tearing it down.
The council members argue removing the freeway would create roughly 16 acres of land for redevelopment, providing opportunities for new housing, businesses and public spaces while increasing Milwaukee’s tax base.
“Bringing down the highway and creating a boulevard, thus creating more tax revenue for the city, opportunity for housing for all income levels, Alderwoman Sharlen Moore told WTMJ. “Really building a community, or a space for our community and not just people that are commuting. You know, those are great as well, but we’re really thinking about residents that live in the City of Milwaukee or that will come to the city of Milwaukee.”
Mayor Cavalier Johnson has deemed 2026 the “Year of Housing” and the statement claims this project would allow the housing in downtown Milwaukee to flourish in affordability.
“2026 has been dubbed the year of housing,” the statement said. “We want to see the freeway land redeveloped to include affordable and accessible housing for all of Milwaukee.”
They also contend removing the elevated freeway would reconnect downtown, the Historic Third Ward and the lakefront by eliminating what they describe as a physical barrier through the city.
The group pointed to the removal of the Park East Freeway in the early 2000s, arguing similar concerns about traffic never materialized and that the redevelopment generated long-term economic benefits.
“Such as when they took down the Park East Freeway, for those that remember where Fiserv Forum is located, look at that community now,” Alderwoman Moore said. “These are the things that again as we look to bridge the divide with communities, there’s been so many that have been dismantled with the creation of highways that ran through neighborhoods. These are opportunities to just do something different. And this right here absolutely makes sense.”
The council members also endorsed the community-backed “Highway-to-Boulevard” proposal promoted by Rethink 794, calling the project a “generational opportunity” to create housing, jobs and economic growth rather than rebuilding the existing elevated structure.
“One of the things that I would say to commuters is that we’re going to do something different, which is going to be a benefit for everyone in the city,” Alderwoman Moore said to WTMJ. ”For those commuters that use 794, they’ll have a different option to be able to still get to where they have to go. We have to begin to start thinking about things objectively, and differently, and boldly in order for us to create again. This is longevity thinking. We’re not thinking about tomorrow. This is us thinking about decades in advance.”
WisDOT has not made a final decision on the future of I-794. The agency continues to study several alternatives, including reconstructing the freeway or replacing portions of it with a street-level boulevard.
