MILWAUKEE — The planned expansion to I-94 between 16th and 70th streets could hit a roadblock.
Milwaukee Inner-City Congregations for Allied Hope (MICAH) is expected to file a lawsuit alleging that the widening of the highway will disproportionately impact Black and Brown communities.
The project plans to change the three-lane highway to four lanes on each side and address the road's failing infrastructure and congestion problems.
While WisDOT says they have tried to mitigate the impact of the expansion, they have had to relocate one family and six businesses.
TMJ4 went to the neighborhoods that would be impacted to speak to neighbors about how they felt about the expansion.
"I hope they win," said Dominique Nolan, a Merrill Park resident about the lawsuit
He says the traffic impacts the highway has on the neighborhood are already bad and he worries how that'll get worse with construction.
Watch: Neighbors support lawsuit attempting to block I-94 expansion.
"It Brings a lot of traffic throughout the neighborhood," Nolan said. "It's a lot of kids that play out here and it's been a lot of reckless driving and stuff like that going on. That brings a lot of unnecessary driving."
After Nolan learned about the impacts on families and businesses, he said the expansion might not be worth it.
Watch: WisDOT's animation of the proposed I-94 expansion.
"If they would have to take people out of the neighborhood and buy their homes and tear them down and stuff like that, I'm not for it," Nolan said. "This is our community, this is where we live. People want to be around here so for them to. just come and take their homes away like that, I just really don't agree with it."
The construction is scheduled to start in late 2025 and go until 2031.
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