Mineral St Overpass Project

Project Update

Native plants and vegetation are becoming well established at the various project sites. One of the sites, the plaza at S 5th St. and W. Washington St., with its permeable pavers, central bio-swale, and nearby cistern, which captures highway runoff, has become a community gathering place.

Public art has been integrated with the Mineral Street Overpass project, creating a lively space for the neighborhood. Arts at Large led the public art initiative. The plaza, locally known as the Creative Commons, is anchored by Marina Lee's sculpture The Guardian, created during her tenure as Artist in Residence with Arts @ Large.

The mosaics installed along the retaining walls and on the benches are the creative work of La Familia de Arte, and 60, 3rd—to 8^thgraders who participated in the Arts @ Large Summer Camp in 2025.

The cistern and surrounding area are now the site of murals celebrating native plants and our connection to the Great Lakes, created by local artist Melanie Ariens, Creative Arts Manager for Milwaukee Water Commons, and the students at Acosta School.

Another sculpture, Butterfly Glade, by local artist Celine Ferrell, owner of Grove Gallery, and metal work by Vanguard Sculpture Services will be installed in November.

The Creative Commons in Walkers Point demonstrates how an infrastructure project can be leveraged for additional community benefits through local partnerships, area funders, and the neighborhood's creative spirit.

Naive plant mural around the cistern by Melanie Ariens and the students at Acosta School.
Pavement mural of the Great Lakes by Melanie Ariens and the students at Acosta School.
Marina Lee's sculpture, The Guardian is the central feature in the bioswale.

Project Overview

This project is the third to be constructed as part of the Green Highways initiative. The project will address pollution from highway runoff. A variety of green infrastructure practices could be included such as stormwater trees, rain gardens or bioswales, native plantings, and porous pavement surfacing materials.

Pollution from the Interstate Highway I-94 flows untreated into a branch of the Milwaukee River. The highway also passes over the Walkers Point neighborhood and the National Ave. business district. The long stretch of unused land under the overpass is visually unappealing and invites unwanted behavior. The Mineral and 6^th St. Overpass Project will address both of these concerns.

The project has three main sections: the overpass between National Avenue. and W. Virginia Street, the area of the on and off ramps between W. Walker and W. Washington Streets, and a smaller area at W. Washington and S. 5^th Streets.

Key neighborhood stakeholders and amenities border the project area. These include Arts @ Large, St. Patrick’s Congregation, the United Community Center, Walker Square Park and Playground, Acosta Middle School, Bruce Guadalupe Community, and Bruce Guadalupe Middle School.

Project Map

Project Goals:

Capture highway stormwater runoff to reduce pollutants entering the waterways
Bring visual and safety improvements to the areas under and/or adjacent to the interchange

Project Timeline

Design – 2023

Construction – 2024

At Washington St. and 5th St., the circular bioretention basin and the slope are being planted to help to manage stormwater at the site.
The slope was seeded with native plants and planted with shrubs to capture stormwater.
Concrete is poured to create a trench to channel stormwater into the bioretention basin.
The circular bioretention basin was planted with water-loving plant to capture and store the stormwater. A sculpture from Arts @ Large was installed in the center of the bioswale giving visual interest to the new plaza.

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Partners

Resources

Project posters from December 2023 Open House

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native plants growing under highway overpass

Marquette Interchange Project

Learn about the completed Green Highways Initiative's Marquette Interchange Project.

Becher Street Overpass Project

Learn about the Green Highways Initiative's Becher Street Overpass Project.

Green Infrastructure

Green infrastructure captures, absorbs, or stores rain and melting snow, taking on numerous shapes and sizes from 55-gallon rain barrels to trees and porous pavers for parking lots, driveways, and sidewalks. You can see green roofs on buildings or bioswales along city streets.