Milwaukee City Wire

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is touting planned upgrades, including a new commuter rail system that stretches 33 miles of active freight rail from Milwaukee to Kenosha.

Authorities highlight that the train will ultimately link with the Union Pacific North commuter rail system in Kenosha, a Railway Age report said this week. Overall, the line will access nine stations, six of them being new to the system, with the proposed trail running parallel to I-94 along Lake Michigan in southeastern Wisconsin.

For the project to get up and running, the train—which will travel at speeds of up to 79 mph—will need new maintenance facilities, new and repaired bridges, and new motors.

Upgrades aside, not everyone is championing the plan as being one in the state’s best interest.

“The transportation nonsense is going to be Wisconsin's downfall,” local resident Michael Bradley posted on Twitter in May. “You got places getting $600M widening projects where there's no population or traffic growth in 20 years, while the rest of us are singing hallelujah if a few bucks accidently trickle thru for safe routes to school.”

WisDOT believes the new expanded system will boost regional transit mobility, especially for those areas that are transit-dependent; a recent Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee Commuter Rail report said.

“WisDOT anticipates selection of a locally preferred alternative (LPA) in December 2022, and adoption of the LPA into the region’s fiscally constrained long range transportation plan in January 2023,” the report said. “WisDOT anticipates completing the environmental review process by late 2023, receiving approval to enter Engineering in early 2024, and receiving a Full Funding Grant Agreement in early 2025. The anticipated start of revenue service date is mid-2026.”