Right now, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation is considering a $1.9 billion construction project along the I-94 North-South Corridor, from the Mitchell Interchange at the airport down to Wisconsin’s border with Illinois.

This proposal would be the most expensive road project in the history of the State of Wisconsin, and it contains two parts -- $1.7 billion to repair the entire stretch, and $200 million to expand the freeway from its current six lanes to eight.

Road maintenance is an important responsibility of the State, and the Wisconsin DOT is right to invest $1.7 billion on freeway reconstruction on I-94 as planned.

But given the enormous price tag of the entire project, the skyrocketing cost of gas, and serious questions about whether or not freeway expansion is really needed, the $200 million proposed for freeway expansion could be better spent addressing other transit challenges facing our region.

Two challenges that stand out are a lack of mass transit options in Southeastern Wisconsin, and dwindling aids to cities for local street maintenance.