Contacts:
Peg Schmitt, Department of Transportation, 608-266-7744
Ethnie Groves, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2156
Carlene Orig, Office of the Mayor, 414-286-8531
Funding Reflects State and Local Partnership to Rebuild Menomonee Valley
MILWAUKEE – At a press conference in Milwaukee today, Governor Jim Doyle and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett announced $8 million in state and local funding to rebuild and extend Canal Street from 25th Street to Miller Park.
“Today we are taking a major step forward in promoting a sound economic future for Canal Street and the entire Menomonee Valley,” Governor Doyle said. “This project and funding agreement is part of my ‘Grow Wisconsin’ plan to provide quality infrastructure, and foster a positive business climate that will help businesses grow and expand in Milwaukee and throughout the state.”
“This project represents an example of intergovernmental cooperation between the State of Wisconsin, the City of Milwaukee, DOT, DNR, MMSD, the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District, the Menomonee Valley Partners, as well as numerous private partners, to accomplish multiple objectives in conjunction with public works projects,” Mayor Barrett said. “Redevelopment on this site is expected to attract 1,000 family supporting jobs adjacent to the city’s most densely populated, economically distressed, and minority neighborhoods.”
The funding package announced by Governor Doyle and Mayor Barrett includes $5 million of federal Surface Transportation Program Urban funds from the state and $3 million from the City of Milwaukee. The project will extend Canal Street from 25th Street west to Miller Park Way. The city and state are already cooperating to reconstruct Canal Street from 25th Street east to 6th Street. That project, scheduled to begin this fall, will include pavement reconstruction, new traffic signals, a railroad spur, a multi-use trail, and a roundabout at 25th Street.
The Menomonee Valley will be anchored on the east by the new Harley-Davidson Museum and on the west by Miller Park. Major sites within the valley include the Potawatomi Casino, the Marquette University Athletic Complex, and a variety of industrial and commercial businesses. The western extension of Canal Street could open as much as 80 acres of land to development in the City of Milwaukee.
No timetable has been set for the western extension of Canal Street. The city is continuing preliminary utility work on the east end of Canal Street and expects full reconstruction to begin this fall.
