Groups Want To Slow Major Zoo Interchange Work

Civil rights groups have asked a federal judge to slow down major rebuilding work on a large highway interchange near Milwaukee. It’s an attempt to get the state to put more mass transit plans in place.

The ACLU and religious and health groups in Milwaukee have been fighting the state DOT in court over the planned expansion of the zoo interchange. The interchange is where I-94 and U.S. 45 connect west of Milwaukee. The issue has been whether the state included enough mass transit like rapid freeway buses in the project. ACLU Attorney Karyn Rotker says the groups have now asked for a temporary injunction to halt major preliminary reconstruction, “Especially the part that widen it, that add lanes.”

Rotker says she’s okay with the state fixing potholes or doing emergency safety work on the interchange. She says many poor and minority workers in Milwaukee don’t have cars or drivers licenses and need better public transportation to get to suburban jobs and schools. The state DOT declines comment on the request for the injunction.