Memo to Milwaukee-area drivers: the freeways are going to be a bitch for the next 25 to 30 years.

As the Marquette interchange project kicks into gear, state planners are busy planning the reconstruction of the entire area's freeway system which will need to be entirely rebuilt in the coming years.

Several problems exist with the reconstruction project which have yet to be resolved. The primary problem is cost. It's one thing to repave that street by your house. It's something entirely different to rebuild hundreds of miles of interstate highway, especially those bridges and interchanges. The topic of expansion is also an issue since some, primarily suburban leaders, are pushing to add lanes on the freeways inside the city of Milwaukee. Many city residents and elected officials remain opposed to adding freeway lanes which will displace homeowners, businesses, and require the state to tear up the gravesites of veterans at Wood Cemetary.

Even if you're a dedicated commuter who desperately wants those expanded freeways, doesn't that 25 to 30 years of freeway rebuilding dampen your spirits a bit? If only there were an alternative to driving on those roads that one could take advantage of; a form of transit that isn't subject to the same traffic congestion as buses, cars, and trucks. It's as if many people in southeastern Wisconsin live in a vacuum when it comes to what the rest of the nation is doing regarding mass transit. Cities around the country have and are building rail transit to serve commuters, city residents, and encourage economic development and tourism. Sadly here, the Milwaukee Connector study appears all but dead.

Perhaps in the coming decades as more Milwaukeeans spend more hours stuck in traffic, we'll finally come around to building a modern transit system. It's just a shame that we won't do so in time to lessen the damage to the local economy that years of detours, and closed freeway lanes will do.