^ yep, as i mentioned earlier, the frequently referenced "freeway" that milwaukee removed was really just a one mile stretch of freeway that served as a spur. it was built in the 60s as part of what was intended to be a full freeway loop all the way around downtown milwaukee going east from I-43 on the northern edge and then continuing south along the lakefront to meet up with I-794.
but due to neighborhood protest, the other sections were never built and the plans for a downtown freeway loop were eventually abandoned, so milwaukee was left with this mile-long stub of elevated freeway that was total overkill for its carrying capacity needs. the city wisely decided to rip it down and replaced it with a more normal and city-friendly ground level boulevard.
here's a map of the original plan. the blue is the existing I-43 freeway, the red is the now demolished section of the park freeway, and the green are the sections of the proposed freeway loop that were never built due to community push-back.
source:
https://populous.com/fiserv-forum-th...-success-story
but yes, downtown milwaukee still has the I-43 freeway trench on it's western flank and the elevated I-794 structure on its southern edge.
- I-43 connects up with I-94 at the marquette interchange immediately SW of downtown, and as a MAJOR through route, it will not be going away anytime soon.
- I-794 connects traffic from I-94/I-43 to the hoan bridge which is a high bridge that crosses over the mouth of the milwaukee river SE of downtown. many milwaukee urbanists have long maintained that the large, overbearing elevated structure of I-794 is overkill and a major detriment for downtown, and they believe it should likewise be ripped down and replaced with a ground level boulevard. but as of now, there are no active plans to demolish I-794 that i am aware of.