UPDATED: Federal Judge Weighs Injunction Against $1.7B Wisconsin Highway Project

http://streetsblog.net/2013/06/04/federal-judge-issues-injunction-against-1-7b-wisconsin-highway-project/

5:20 p.m.: This article has been corrected to reflect corrections in the original article.

Environmental attorneys in Wisconsin are doing tremendously important work. Groups representing people of color and poorer Wisconsinites won an injunction against are advancing a lawsuit against a $1.7 billion interchange outside Milwaukee. They argued that such a costly highway project, with no provisions for transit, is discriminatory because it confers advantages to relatively wealthy commuters while offering nothing for the region’s transit-dependent population.

The civil rights lawsuit against this $1.7 billion interchange project will proceed. Image: For Construction Pros

This lawsuit has the potential to set an important precedent about state highway spending and social equity in cities. Robbie Webber at the State Smart Transportation Initiative discusses the implications:

A federal judge in Wisconsin has allowed a lawsuit against a major urban freeway project to proceed, agreeing with community groups that low-income residents could suffer “irreparable harm” if the project moves forward. The groups contend that the project advantages wealthier auto commuters at the expense of poorer transit riders, and the judge found that the plaintiffs have a likelihood of success on the merits.

The Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin and Milwaukee Inner-city Congregations Allied for Hope targeted the project’s environmental impact statement, claiming that state and federal transportation officials failed to fully evaluate the project’s environmental and related social and economic impacts.