Federal Court Hearing A Window Into Citizen Action Against The Highway Machine

The activists in Waukesha and Washington Counties known as the Highway J Coalition have a federal court hearing Wednesday where grievances against the way highway expansion in our area has been allowed to play out.

Highway J runs north for about 15 miles from I-94, right past the front door, appropriately, of the offices of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission - - where about a decade ago, planners overrode petitions signed by 7,000 residents and gave the state Department of Transportation the go-ahead to widen Highway J/164 to four-lanes from two.

And along with it, wiping out one heckuva a lot of property and peace of mind, as more lanes and higher speed limits now are moving cars and semis right past home and farm front doors.

The activists are still trying to get highway planners and planning to follow relevant environmental and public-participation laws and procedures, with the Wednesday hearing a key step in the process.

Here are the details for this public and review in the courtroom of US District Court Judge Lynn Adelman:


Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 10:30 AM in Courtroom 390 of the Federal Courthouse in downtown Milwaukee, 517 East Wisconsin Avenue.