{{Short description|Interstate Highway in Milwaukee Wisconsin}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2020}} {{Use American English|date=December 2022}} {{Infobox road | state = WI | type = I | route = 794 | alternate_name = Lake Freeway<br />East–West Freeway | map = {{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-lat=43.0182|frame-long=-87.91124|zoom=12|type=line|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Wikipedia KML/Interstate 794}}}} | map_custom = yes | map_notes = I-794 highlighted in red | length_mi = 3.75 | length_ref = <ref name="fhwa">{{cite web |last=Starks |first=Edward |date=January 27, 2022 |title=Table 2: Auxiliary Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/interstate_highway_system/routefinder/table02.cfm |access-date=December 23, 2022 |work=FHWA Route Log and Finder List |publisher=Federal Highway Administration}}</ref> | established = 1969<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 18, 1969 |title=Freeway Leg Opening Set Nov. 15 |pages=5 |work=Milwaukee Sentinel |url=https://0-infoweb-newsbank-com.countycat.mcfls.org/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D8DE8DE83992E4A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Aimage%252Fv2%253A119BAA7547AD9B50%2540EANX-NB-16FBD0C44B9005AF%25402440513-16FA3589C50CF528%25404-16FA3589C50CF528%2540/hlterms%3A%2522Interstate%2520794%2522 |url-access=registration |access-date=November 14, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Tatarsky |first=Steve |date=November 13, 1969 |title=X-Way Link To East Side Opens Today |pages=5 |work=Milwaukee Sentinel |url=https://0-infoweb-newsbank-com.countycat.mcfls.org/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D8DE8DE83992E4A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Aimage%252Fv2%253A119BAA7547AD9B50%2540EANX-NB-16FBCD43B2046089%25402440539-16FA32AF254CB5CF%25406/hlterms%3A%2522Interstate%2520794%2522 |url-access=registration |access-date=November 14, 2023}}</ref> | spur_type = I | spur_of = 94 | direction_a = West | terminus_a = {{jct|state=WI|I|43|I|94}} in Milwaukee | direction_b = East | terminus_b = {{jct|state=WI|WI|794}} in Milwaukee | counties = Milwaukee | previous_type = I | previous_route = 535 | next_type = WI | next_route = 794 }} '''Interstate 794''' ('''I-794'''; also known as '''East–West Freeway''', '''Lake Parkway''', and '''Lake Freeway''') is a {{convert|3.75|mi|km|adj=on}} auxiliary Interstate Highway in Milwaukee County in the US state of Wisconsin. It is one of two auxiliary Interstates in the Milwaukee metropolitan area, serves the lakefront and the Port of Milwaukee, and connects downtown with the southeastern suburbs of St. Francis, Cudahy, and South Milwaukee.
==Route description== I-794 begins at the Marquette Interchange in downtown Milwaukee, where I-94 and I-43 meet. It continues eastward through downtown and turns southward near Lake Michigan at Lincoln Memorial Drive. The route crosses the Milwaukee River and the Port of Milwaukee as well as the Henry Maier Festival Park via the Hoan Bridge. The entire route is elevated on a viaduct. The Interstate designation ends at exit 3 at Carferry Drive, which provides access to the Lake Express ferry to Muskegon, Michigan; the highway continues south as State Trunk Highway 794 (WIS 794), also known as the Lake Parkway''',''' to the intersection of Pennsylvania and Edgerton avenues on Cudahy's west side, running parallel and adjacent to the east side of Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.<ref name="dot1">{{cite map |author = Wisconsin Department of Transportation |author-link = Wisconsin Department of Transportation |date = January 2006 |title = Milwaukee Co. |url = http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/maps/docs/counties/milwaukee.pdf |scale = 1:100,000 |location = Madison |publisher = Wisconsin Department of Transportation |access-date = December 12, 2007 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070125211647/http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/maps/docs/counties/milwaukee.pdf |archive-date = January 25, 2007 }}</ref> Traffic volumes on I-794 range from 40,400 vehicles per day on the Hoan Bridge to 100,000 on the east–west Freeway.<ref name="wisdot_milwaukee_aadt_freeway2">{{cite map |author = Wisconsin Department of Transportation |year = 2007 |url = http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/counts/docs/milwaukee/milwaukee-freeway2007-pt1.pdf |title = Milwaukee County Freeway System 2007 Mainline AADT Only Annual Average Daily Traffic |sheet = 2 of 3 |publisher = Wisconsin Department of Transportation |access-date = March 7, 2009 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100601234729/http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/counts/docs/milwaukee/milwaukee-freeway2007-pt1.pdf |archive-date = June 1, 2010 }}</ref>
==History== thumb|left|The Lake Freeway as seen from the air The original plans for the Lake Freeway called for it to begin north of downtown Milwaukee at a connection to the proposed Park East Freeway, then to travel south from the downtown Milwaukee area to Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. However, the Hoan Bridge was the only segment of the freeway to be built before strong opposition to the freeway resulted in its cancellation.<ref>{{cite web |last = Bessert |first = Chris |url = https://www.wisconsinhighways.org/milwaukee/lake.html |title = Lake Freeway |work = Wisconsin Highways }}{{sps|certain=yes|date=June 2020}}</ref> This led to the Hoan Bridge being called the "Bridge to Nowhere" as it sat unused, with both of its ends unconnected to any other road, for three years. The unfinished bridge was long held as being used as the site of the car chase scene in the movie ''The Blues Brothers''.<ref name="WH_794">{{cite web |last = Bessert |first = Chris |title = Highways 400–894 |work = Wisconsin Highways |url = https://www.wisconsinhighways.org/listings/WiscHwys400-894.html#I-894 |at = I-894 |access-date = March 7, 2009 }}{{sps|certain=yes|date=June 2020}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=June 2022}} In a 2016 article for the ''Shepherd Express'', author Michael J. Prigge, pointing out that the bridge had been opened for two years when the film was shot, indicated another incomplete segment of I-794 had been used for the scene.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://shepherdexpress.com/news/what-made-milwaukee-famous/bridge-nowhere-brief-history-hoan-bridge-part-ii/ |last = Prigge |first = Michael J. |title = Bridge to Nowhere! A Brief History of the Hoan Bridge Part II |date = September 12, 2016 |work = Shepherd Express |access-date = October 17, 2019 }}</ref> An east–west freeway was later constructed between the Marquette Interchange and the Hoan Bridge, creating what is now known as I-794.
As part of his campaign for a more livable city in Milwaukee, Mayor John Norquist proposed to tear down the I-794 portion of the east–west freeway in 1995 in favor of a surface boulevard. His opposition to the freeway was rooted in the freeway cutting off the Historic Third Ward from the rest of downtown Milwaukee and hindering development in the area. His effort failed when suburban opposition to the removal cited increased traffic volume on the road as well as the new Lake Parkway nearing completion. After opening, the Lake Parkway increased traffic volumes on I-794 to 111,000 vehicles per day by 2004.<ref name="WH_794"/>
The Marquette Interchange construction project, undertaken between 2004 and 2008, rebuilt the east–west viaduct section of I-794 between the interchange and the Milwaukee River.
In February 2010, Milwaukee County Supervisor Patricia Jursik and South Milwaukee Mayor Tom Zepecki proposed a plan to expand I-794/Lake Parkway to Racine County. The expansion would follow an existing railroad corridor and was intended to relieve traffic along I-94.<ref>{{cite news |first = George |last = Mallet |date = February 27, 2010 |url = http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/85615337.html |title = Plan to Expand Lake Parkway in Works |location = Milwaukee |publisher = WTMJ-TV |access-date = September 12, 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110927154927/http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/85615337.html |archive-date = September 27, 2011 }}</ref>
{{As of|2023}}, WisDOT is studying several options for reducing the footprint of or demolishing the portion of I-794 between the Marquette Interchange and the Hoan Bridge, with construction tentatively scheduled to begin in 2026.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jannene |first=Jeramey |date=June 23, 2023 |title=See The State's Design Concepts For Replacing Or Rebuilding Interstate 794 |work=Urban Milwaukee |url=https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2023/06/23/transportation-see-the-states-design-concepts-for-replacing-or-rebuilding-interstate-794/ |access-date=July 20, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=I-794 Lake Interchange Study - Official Study Website |url=https://www.794lakeinterchange.wisconsindot.gov/ |website=www.794lakeinterchange.wisconsindot.gov |publisher=WisDOT |access-date=26 February 2026 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ryan |first1=Rachel |title=Study shows removal of I-794 could result in loss of over $560 million |url=https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/news/2025/11/17/i794--milwaukee--removal--study--economy--cost |access-date=26 February 2026 |work=spectrumnews1.com |agency=Spectrum News 1 |date=17 November 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
==Exit list== {{jcttop|exit|state=WI|county=Milwaukee|location=Milwaukee|exit_ref =<ref name="dot2">{{cite web |author = Wisconsin Department of Transportation |title = Exit numbers on Interstate 794 |url = http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/road/exits-i794.htm |access-date = December 12, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070806010346/http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/road/exits-i794.htm |archive-date = August 6, 2007 |url-status = dead }}</ref>|length_ref=}} {{WIint|exit |mile=0.0 |exit=1A |road={{jct|state=WI|I|94|dir1=west|dir2=north|name1=East–West Freeway|city1=Madison}} |notes=Western terminus; western end of East–West Freeway }} {{WIint|exit |mile=0.4 |exit=1B |road={{jct|state=WI|I|43|I|94|dir1=south|dir2=east|dir3=south|name1=North–South Freeway|location1=Chicago|extra=airport}} |notes=}} {{WIint|exit |mile=0.4 |exit=1C |road={{jct|state=WI|I|43|dir1=north|name1=North–South Freeway|city1=Green Bay}} |notes=}} {{WIint|exit |mile=0.6 |exit=1H |type=incomplete |road=St. Paul Avenue / James Lovell Street |notes=Eastbound exit from I-43/I-94 only<ref name=googlemaps>{{google maps |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Interstate+794&ie=UTF8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ll=43.032306,-87.917383&spn=0.009991,0.020084&z=16&om=1 |title=Interstate 794 |access-date=December 12, 2007}}</ref>}} {{WIint|exit |mile=0.7 |exit=1D |type=incomplete |road=Plankinton Avenue |notes=Eastbound exit from I-43/I-94 only<ref name=googlemaps/>}} {{jctbridge|exit |mile=0.8 |mile2=0.9 |bridge=Hoan Bridge over the Milwaukee River}} {{WIint|exit |mile=0.9 |exit=1E |road=EB: Jackson Street south / Van Buren Street north<hr>WB: Milwaukee Street – Downtown |notes=Signed eastbound for Jackson and Van Buren streets and westbound for Milwaukee Street}} {{WIint|exit |mile=1.1 |exit=1F |road=EB: Lakefront<hr>WB: Michigan Street / Lincoln Memorial Drive |notes=Signed eastbound for the lakefront, and Michigan Street westbound; eastern end of East–West Freeway name ends; northern end of Lake Freeway}} {{jctbridge|exit |mile=2.0 |bridge=Hoan Bridge over the Kinnickinnic River}} {{WIint|exit |mile=3.1 |exit=3 |road=Port of Milwaukee |notes=}} {{WIint|exit |mile=3.5 |exit=– |road={{Jct|state=WI|WI|794|dir1=south|name1=Lake Parkway}} |notes=Eastern terminus; southern end of Lake Freeway}} {{jctbtm|keys=incomplete}}
==See also== *{{portal-inline|U.S. Roads}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|Interstate 794}} {{Attached KML|display=inline,title}} * [https://www.wisconsinhighways.org/milwaukee/eastwest.html East–West Freeway] at [https://www.wisconsinhighways.org Wisconsin Highways] * [https://www.wisconsinhighways.org/milwaukee/lake.html Lake Freeway] at [https://www.wisconsinhighways.org Wisconsin Highways] * [https://www.wisconsinhighways.org/indepth/hoan_bridge.html Hoan Bridge: 2000] from Wisconsin Highways
{{3di|94}}
94-7 94-7 Category:Interstate 94 Category:Freeways in the Milwaukee area Category:Transportation in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin