While our state legislators want the world to know Wisconsin is open for business, it is important that those doing business in the state have good roads to drive upon.
Local roads and interstate highways in Wisconsin are generally in good repair. You can thank your local governments for maintaining county highways, town roads and village and city streets. Legislators at the local level drive on these roads every day and are aware that maintaining roads is a key part of government infrastructure.
At the state level, funding for state highways - especially road projects outside of the Milwaukee area - has been neglected. Democratic legislator Gary Hebl of Madison opined on Wednesday that road improvements need to be a top goal for the state in 2018.
"The roads and bridges in our state are in dire need of repair," Hebl said, according to the Capital Times. "This is an issue that we have tried to hammer home again and again and yet it continually falls on deaf ears. We need to work together to come up with a viable solution so that the people of this state don't have to drive on unsafe, cracked roads filled with potholes. I will work with my colleagues in the Legislature to repair and improve our state's roads and bridges."
Many people believe the money for road projects is not shared fairly throughout the state. Attracting Foxconn to bring manufacturing to the Racine area is the state's largest economic development pitch in history. With it comes road projects to improve access to the Foxconn site.
A memo from the bipartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau recently said that $134 million in state highway funding could be used to turn roads near Foxconn into state highways. Gov. Scott Walker said the Foxconn deal won't interrupt improvement of other state roads.
Yet, while Wisconsin Republicans spent months arguing over road funding in the state budget and refusing to consider long-term solutions, they didn't hesitate to offer Foxconn $3 billion in incentives. They have repeatedly failed to prioritize infrastructure needed for the average resident.
A year ago this month, an audit of highway projects done by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation showed the department underestimated the cost of 16 ongoing highway projects by more than $3 billion. Looking back on 19 other completed projects at that time showed those projects exceeded estimates by more than $700 million.
Building roads in Wisconsin is expensive. The window for construction is short. The material necessary due to the harsh climate is expensive. Despite the best engineering, construction crews and plans, the life of roads in Wisconsin is shorter than in many other states. When the state isn't putting as much money into maintenance as it should, things deteriorate faster.
State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said last month he hopes his colleagues in the Legislature will get "serious" about raising money to pay for transportation projects in 2018. Going into the new year, the state was without a plan to fill a $1 billion hole in the budget for transportation funding.
When it comes to state highways, rural residents have good reason to carry a chip on their shoulder. Wisconsinites may recall in 1996, former Milwaukee legislator Brian Burke, a Democrat, said improving U.S. Highway 151 in southwestern Wisconsin was creating a "four-lane road to nowhere."
Rural Wisconsinites need better roads to attract better jobs and retain businesses. There's little doubt those in the Legislature pay attention to roads, because they helped create the gerrymandered map of Assembly and state Senate districts that carve out their territory of representation.
If you're getting a sore neck from bouncing around on a state highway, you can do something about that by making a phone call, writing an email or eventually taking your gripe to the voting booth.
Local roads and interstate highways in Wisconsin are generally in good repair. You can thank your local governments for maintaining county highways, town roads and village and city streets. Legislators at the local level drive on these roads every day and are aware that maintaining roads is a key part of government infrastructure.
At the state level, funding for state highways - especially road projects outside of the Milwaukee area - has been neglected. Democratic legislator Gary Hebl of Madison opined on Wednesday that road improvements need to be a top goal for the state in 2018.
"The roads and bridges in our state are in dire need of repair," Hebl said, according to the Capital Times. "This is an issue that we have tried to hammer home again and again and yet it continually falls on deaf ears. We need to work together to come up with a viable solution so that the people of this state don't have to drive on unsafe, cracked roads filled with potholes. I will work with my colleagues in the Legislature to repair and improve our state's roads and bridges."
Many people believe the money for road projects is not shared fairly throughout the state. Attracting Foxconn to bring manufacturing to the Racine area is the state's largest economic development pitch in history. With it comes road projects to improve access to the Foxconn site.
A memo from the bipartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau recently said that $134 million in state highway funding could be used to turn roads near Foxconn into state highways. Gov. Scott Walker said the Foxconn deal won't interrupt improvement of other state roads.
Yet, while Wisconsin Republicans spent months arguing over road funding in the state budget and refusing to consider long-term solutions, they didn't hesitate to offer Foxconn $3 billion in incentives. They have repeatedly failed to prioritize infrastructure needed for the average resident.
A year ago this month, an audit of highway projects done by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation showed the department underestimated the cost of 16 ongoing highway projects by more than $3 billion. Looking back on 19 other completed projects at that time showed those projects exceeded estimates by more than $700 million.
Building roads in Wisconsin is expensive. The window for construction is short. The material necessary due to the harsh climate is expensive. Despite the best engineering, construction crews and plans, the life of roads in Wisconsin is shorter than in many other states. When the state isn't putting as much money into maintenance as it should, things deteriorate faster.
State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said last month he hopes his colleagues in the Legislature will get "serious" about raising money to pay for transportation projects in 2018. Going into the new year, the state was without a plan to fill a $1 billion hole in the budget for transportation funding.
When it comes to state highways, rural residents have good reason to carry a chip on their shoulder. Wisconsinites may recall in 1996, former Milwaukee legislator Brian Burke, a Democrat, said improving U.S. Highway 151 in southwestern Wisconsin was creating a "four-lane road to nowhere."
Rural Wisconsinites need better roads to attract better jobs and retain businesses. There's little doubt those in the Legislature pay attention to roads, because they helped create the gerrymandered map of Assembly and state Senate districts that carve out their territory of representation.
If you're getting a sore neck from bouncing around on a state highway, you can do something about that by making a phone call, writing an email or eventually taking your gripe to the voting booth.
