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Zoo Interchange Alert

August 9, 2009 by admin

The following post is from Dianne Dagelen, parishioner and member of the Zoo Interchange Committee.

Friends and Neighbors:

In order for your Zoo Interchange Comment to count, you need to identify which DOT (Dept of Transportation) plan you prefer. Voicing only your concerns will not count toward the plan that DOT selects. If you did not specify a plan in a prior Comment, you may do so with an additional Comment form. You may send in more than one form. Only Comments received after the June 24th Environmental Impact Statement draft will be counted. Earlier Comments have been discarded.

See below for Comment mailing address, fax or email address. Form is attached. The deadline for Comments on the Zoo Interchange has been extended to August 10th.

In addition to identifying specific issues that you believe DOT inadequately or incorrectly dealt with (eg., rail, wetlands, noise, ponds), you need to specify which of the five alternatives you prefer: No-Build, 6 lane N1, 6 lane N3, or 8 lane (N1 or N3). Go to http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/sefreeways/zoomap.htm for maps and descriptions of each. Summary of DOT draft Environmental Impact Statement:

No-Build: Cost: $960 Million. Retains current concrete footprint, with some safety improvements and additions made. Bridges will be re-built; roads rebuilt and maintained.

Impact: No additional concrete/impermeable space to the current 9 mile interchange. All 7.1 acres of wetlands untouched. No loss of natural areas. No retention / detention ponds. Honey Creek and Underwood Parkways remain intact (no clear-cutting). Zoo and Chippewa Park remain intact. Oak Leaf bike trail remains intact. Monarch Trail, including south berm, whole nectaring area and oak savanna, remain intact. No Texas U-Turns at 84th St. All exits and exit locations remain. No effect to floodplain. No loss of private residences or their tax base.

Six Lane (N1 or N3): Cost: $2.16 Billion. Interchange is modernized. All exits moved to right side of expressway. Wider, longer ramps; Texas U-Turns at 84th St.; N&S exits at Bluemound removed. Up to 61 electrical transmission towers to be relocated. Six to 31 residences (depending on DOT sub-plan chosen) will be removed. Milwaukee, Wauwatosa and West Allis will experience loss of property tax revenue.

Impact: 32% increase in concrete space. Approximately 3.3 acres wetlands lost, including .3 acres (N1) or all .42 acres (N3) of wetlands surrounding south berm of Monarch Trail. Floodplain increased by 0.1 acre, but no deemed adverse effect, The Zoo loses 15 acres, and .1 acre from Chippewa Park. Three to 4 acres of the Zoo’s vegetative buffer zone would be clear cut for a utility easement to relocate transmission towers. Swan Blvd moves 3 feet south into drip line (tree roots) of the Monarch Trail’s oak savanna. 92nd St. is extended from Watertown Plank through Co. Grounds to north Swan Blvd.

Additional concrete and reduced wetlands require detention ponds: 4 acres clear cut at Honey Creek Pkwy–stream bed may be completely removed from west of 84th St.; 5 acre pond at Underwood Pkwy–Oak Leaf bike trail “relocated”; 3 acre pond at Monarch Trail’s south berm–wetlands filled in east of former south berm and between south and north berm. Honey Creek east of 84th St. to have concrete lining removed, along with trees. Underwood to have bottom lining removed, but side concrete lining to remain.

Eight Lane (N1 or N3): Cost: $2.31 Billion. Same modernization as for Six Lane, but a lane is added in each direction.

Impact: 43.25% increase in concrete space. 3.4 acres of wetland lost, including entire .42 acres surrounding south berm at Monarch Trail. Floodplain fill increased by 0.2 acre, but no deemed adverse effect. The Zoo loses 15.3 acres, and .2 acre natural space from Chippewa Park. Swan Blvd is moved south 6 feet into drip line (tree roots) of Monarch Trail oak savanna; 87 feet closer (with N3) on west to Eschweiler Bldgs. Additional concrete and reduced wetlands require detention ponds as described for Six Lane plan, but a building would be removed near Honey Creek for the increased size pond required.

Safety and Congestion: Although DOT is promoting expansion of the zoo interchange to reduce congestion and thereby increase safety, research*(google “induced congestion”) indicates that highway expansion increases congestion. (If you build it, they will come.) We have only to drive the Marquette interchange to know that traffic still comes to a standstill at rush hour. The travel time from downtown to the zoo interchange has been reduced by about 3 minutes. In addition, highway expansion furthers urban sprawl, leading to even more congestion, at the expense of those living in and near the city. With more congestion, comes more noise and air pollution as well, even though DOT insists that the highway expansion will make traffic continually move faster.

Rail Ignored: The draft Environmental Impact Statement does not include accommodation for rail right-or-way. Nor does it include rail when considering reduction of traffic, congestion, air or noise pollution, or the loss of green space. The money saved by the No-Build option instead of the 8-lane expansion ($1.35 Billion), could be spent on high speed rail to Madison/Chicago; metra rail to Waukesha, Green Bay and Oshkosh; road/bridge repair within Milwaukee Co.; returning inter-city buses and routes. “Forward 45” planning contractors for the zoo interchange are thinking backwards by not including mass transit. Milwaukee Common Council recently posted opposition to this neglect.

Detention Ponds: Clear-cutting of trees for detention ponds is an eye-sore. It means a loss of green space that reduces air and noise pollution, while softening the concrete that surrounds us. Ponds collect grease, oil, rock salt and heavy metals from highway run-off, which is so foul that it requires fencing. They stink, collect geese, algae and mosquitoes. Ponds present a safety and liability risk to children who would climb their fences. The ponds will reduce property values of surrounding neighborhoods. They would permanently degrade Parkways which DOT confirms as eligible for the National Register.

Monarch Trail: The loss of the south berm and the filling in of its surrounding wetlands will substantially remove nectaring plants to sustain the monarchs and other butterflies. The fill will drastically change the topography so as to alter or remove the windbreak of the north berm. This could ultimately affect the monarch’s migration. It would also eliminate the natural habitat supporting the ground-nesting birds in the area. In addition, the Swan Blvd expansion will likely cut into the tree roots of the oak savanna where the monarchs roost, causing the trees’ eventual death, as occurred at the Research Park. The extension of 92nd St. through the County Grounds will further its dissection.

Send your Comments as follows. Be sure to cc your local officials: mayor, city alderperson(s), county supervisor, state senator and representative. Request that they convey these concerns to DOT directly.

Mail: James Liptack, P.E., Wis DOT, SE Transportation Region, P.O. Box 798 Waukesha, WI 53187-0798

Fax: (262) 548-5662 Be sure to put James Liptack’s name on the fax

Email: dotdtsdsezoo@dot.wi.gov Be sure to include your identifying information as requested on the Comment form: full name, address and phone number.

Dianne Dagelen
Wauwatosa, WI