Project Location North Ave. 43 e Project I.D. 1030-20-00 i 41 I-94 North-South Corridor Study 18 Lak Bluemound Rd. Mich ga 18 794 Lake County, IL 94 MILWAUKEE Kenosha, Racine, Milwaukee n 45 94 Counties, WI National Ave. S. 108th St. 24 43 100 794 Forest Home894 Ave. 43 Layton Ave. General Mitchell International 241 Airport Loomis Rd. 36 38 .evAllewoH.S S. 27th St. 94 32 N Ryan Rd . 100 0 2 4 Scale In Miles Milwaukee Co. 27th St. Racine Co. 38 94 32 31 38 20 RACINE 11 Racine Co. Kenosha Co. 32 Lake Michigan 41 158 KENOSHA 50 31 32 165 Kenosha Co. (Wisconsin) Lake Co. (Illinois) 131 94 41 1.0_EIS_Project Location map_v8.ai 08.03.07 cae Summary Information about the Final EIS This Final EIS includes information presented in the Draft EIS which was approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on October 30, 2007, for distribution to agencies and the public. The Final EIS also responds to comments on the Draft EIS, summarizes input received as a result of the public hearing and availability of the Draft EIS for review, and identifies the preferred alternative and basis for selection. The following is a list of format changes, revisions, and additions between the Draft and Final EIS, based on comments and public hearing input Draft EIS. New material in the Final EIS is either highlighted with shading or noted with a vertical line in the right margin. • Summary—Discussion of preferred alternative and additional information in the impact summary table. • Section 1—Purpose of and Need for Proposed Action. Minor updates. • Section 2—Alternatives/Preferred Alternative. Previously titled “Alternatives” in the Draft EIS. Discussion of preferred alternative for the Drexel Avenue interchange has been added. • Section 3—Affected Environment. Several sections have been updated based on information from the DNR. • Section 4—Environmental Consequences. Several sections have been updated based on information from the DNR and U.S. EPA. A new section “Wetlands—Only Practicable Alternative Finding has been added to Section 4.11.7. • Section 5—Draft Section 4(f) and Section 6(f) Evaluation. The proposed action discussion has been updated to identify the Drexel Avenue interchange is now part of the preferred alternative. The coordination section has been updated to reflect coordination with Milwaukee County Parks System and Wisconsin DNR. • Section 6—Comments and Coordination during Draft EIS Preparation. Previously titled “Comments and Coordination.” • Section 7—Comments and Coordination Following Draft EIS Availability and Public Hearing. New Final EIS Section. • Appendix C—Agency Correspondence during Draft EIS Preparation. Previously titled “Agency Correspondence” in Draft EIS. • Appendix D—Agency Correspondence on Draft EIS and Preferred Alternative. New appendix that contains local, state, and federal agency comments on the Draft EIS and the preferred alternative. • Appendix E—Agricultural Impact Statement. New Final EIS appendix. MKE/71300004 I I-94 NORTH-SOUTH CORRIDOR STUDY Description of the Proposed Action The proposed action, or project, is to reconstruct the 38-mile study-area freeway system (the parts of I-94, I-43, I-894, and the Airport Spur in the study area) to provide eight general- purpose travel lanes. The study-area termini are Howard Avenue on the north, 35th Street (over I-894/43) on the west, Howell Avenue on the east (under the Airport Spur), and the north end of the I-94/USH 41 interchange in Lake County, Illinois, on the south (Exhibit 1-1). The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) are the lead state and federal agencies, respectively, for this project. Purpose of the Project, and Need for the Project The purpose of the project is to address the study-area freeway system’s deteriorated condition and obsolete design of the roadway and bridges, high crash rate, and current and future capacity. The proposed improvements would: • Improve safety and traffic operations • Accommodate future traffic volumes at an acceptable level of service • Maintain a key link within the state and regional transportation network • Replace deteriorating pavement The project would neither necessitate nor foreclose future transportation improvements within the study area. It is consistent with local and regional transportation and land use planning objectives. The project would provide a safe and efficient transportation system in the I-94 north-south corridor to serve existing and future traffic demand while minimizing disturbance to the natural and built environment. The need for the transportation improvements in the I-94 north-south corridor is demonstrated through a combination of factors: • Regional land use and transportation planning—The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission’s 2003 A Regional Freeway Reconstruction Plan for Southeastern Wisconsin recommends reconstructing the southeast Wisconsin freeway system and adding an additional lane in each direction on most of the freeway system. • System linkage and route importance—I-94 is a major east-west freeway link across the northern United States, connecting Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, St. Paul, and Minneapolis with I-90 in Billings, Montana. I-94 is the gateway to Wisconsin’s Fox River Valley, Door County, and the Milwaukee area for tourists and freight from Illinois and points east and south. • Existing and future traffic volumes—Existing traffic volumes on I-94 in the study area range from 78,000 vehicles per day (vpd) in Kenosha County to over 156,000 vpd in Milwaukee County (Exhibit 1-5). Traffic volumes would rise to approximately between 110,000 and 127,000 vpd on I-94 in Kenosha and Racine Counties by 2035 and 171,000 vpd in Milwaukee County by 2035. • Safety—A total of 4,546 crashes (not including deer/other animal crashes) on the study- area freeway system from 2000 to 2004, or roughly 2.5 crashes per day. II MKE\071300004 SUMMARY • Existing freeway conditions and deficiencies—The study-area freeway system was originally constructed between the late 1950s and mid-1960s with the exception of the Airport Spur, which was constructed in 1978. Over the years, the original concrete pavement eventually began to wear and crack. WisDOT has resurfaced the study-area freeway system two or more times. This returns the roadway to a smooth riding surface, but does not address the cracks in the original pavement or possible voids in the gravel base under the pavement. The freeway system’s design includes a combination of left- hand and right-hand entrances and exits that result in weaving traffic, closely spaced entrance and exit ramps, and curves that are too sharp for freeway traffic. • Incorporating local government and public input—Local officials and the public were given opportunities to express their concerns about the existing freeway’s design and condition and important elements to consider in developing alternatives for the freeway’s reconstruction. • Minimizing environmental impacts—The I-94 north-south corridor has numerous environmental resources including wetlands, streams, environmental corridors, plants, wildlife, parks, and farmland. Preserving these resources to the extent possible and practical is an important purpose and need factor that needs to be considered when developing and evaluating the transportation improvement alternatives. Section 1 discusses these factors. The need for the proposed improvements sets the stage for developing and evaluating possible improvement alternatives. Description of Other Projects in the Area WisDOT and FHWA completed a study of all 13 service interchanges with I-94 in Kenosha and Racine Counties in 1996. As a result of the previous study, 12 of the 13 service interchanges with I-94 in Racine and Kenosha County are not included in this I-94 North- South Corridor Study. WisDOT is preparing construction plans for these interchanges and plans to begin reconstructing them over several years, beginning in 2009 in Kenosha County. The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority and the Illinois Department of Transportation began reconstructing I-94 south of the study area in 2007. This project includes reconstruction and widening of the highway to eight lanes on the 32-mile section of the Tri-State Tollway (I-94, I-294) between Dempster Avenue and IL Route 173, and reconstruction of the less congested 1-mile section north of IL Route 173 to Russell Road. The section between Russell Road and the Illinois-Wisconsin state line will be resurfaced. Alternatives Considered WisDOT and FHWA developed and evaluated a wide range of alternatives. The alternatives were presented to the public and assessed to determine their environmental impacts and the extent to which they meet the purpose of the project. The initial range of alternatives considered: • No-Build Alternative—No safety or capacity improvements would be made. The study- area freeway system would eventually be replaced as needed in its current configuration with six lanes, left-hand entrance and exit ramps. MKE/071300004 III I-94 NORTH-SOUTH CORRIDOR STUDY • Transportation Demand Management—Attempts to reduce the number of auto trips through increased transit ridership. The public transit system element of the 2035 regional transportation system plan recommends several ways to increase bus service in Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee Counties including a rapid transit bus system operating on freeways to provide commute and reverse commute service, and an express bus system operating on a grid of higher speed, limited-stop arterials. • Transportation System Management—Involves ways to maximize the efficiency of the highway system to help alleviate or postpone the need to expand capacity. Transportation System Management measures are designed to improve traffic flow and safety such as improving intersection capacity, widening shoulders, removing street parking or restricting parking to non-peak traffic periods, adding traffic signals, ramp metering, and providing access management including relocating or consolidating driveways where practicable. • Build Alternatives − Spot Improvement—Replace the existing roadway and bridges and address those safety issues than can be fixed without acquiring any new right-of-way.