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Transportation
Two of Wisconsin's main Interstate highways intersect in Milwaukee. Interstate
94 comes north from Chicago to enter Milwaukee and continues west to Madison.
Interstate 43 enters Milwaukee from the southwest and continues north to Green
Bay. Milwaukee has two branch interstate highways, Interstate 894 and Interstate
794. I-894 extends from the western suburbs to the southern suburbs, bypassing
downtown. I-794 extends east from the Marquette Interchange to Lake Michigan
before turning south over the Hoan Bridge toward the airport, turning into
Highway 794 along the way.
Milwaukee is also served by three US highways. U.S. Route 18 provides a link
from downtown to points west. U.S. Route 41 and U.S. Route 45 both provide
north-south freeway transportation on the western side of the city.
U.S. Route 41, which also connects the city with the Fox Valley beyond its
suburbs, is being considered for expansion which will qualify it for an upgrade
to Interstate status.[citation needed] The proposed Interstate 41 would become
Milwaukee's third main Interstate.
The Milwaukee County Transit System provides a bus transit system. The city is
also served by the Hiawatha Amtrak express service between Milwaukee and
Chicago. In addition, Milwaukee is home to two airports, General Mitchell
International Airport on the southern edge of the city, and the smaller
Timmerman Field on the north side.
A tram system known as the Milwaukee Connector was proposed and passed by the
common council, but mayor Tom Barrett vetoed the bill over problems of cost and
availability. Currently, a 0.5% sales tax is being proposed for the counties of
Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha by the Southeast Wisconsin Regional Transit
Authority to fund a commuter rail from Kenosha to downtown Milwaukee. The tax
would also be used to fund the bus systems in those counties which currently
rely on property taxes.
In recent years, Milwaukee has become one of the more bicycle friendly cities in
the Untied States. In 2006, it obtained bronze-level status from the League of
American Bicyclists , a rarity for a city its size. The city has over 65 miles
of bicycle lanes and trails, most of which run alongside or near its rivers and
Lake Michigan.
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