Does the legislature have a sustainable plan for transportation?
In Business Blog
Debby Jackson, TDA Executive Director
May 23, 2019
Wisconsin, like other states, has grappled with how to fund transportation for more than a decade.
Earlier this year, the governor put forward a plan that would begin to address some of Wisconsin’s most urgent transportation challenges and cost the average motorist less than $4 a month.
For this small monthly fee:
More than 200 vital state highway rehabilitation projects around the state will start sooner.
Local governments will receive increased funding to support local roads and transit services.
Wisconsin will complete the Zoo Interchange and invest in other important modernization and safety projects, including Highway 23 and I-39/90, with limited use of bonding.
Debt service as a percentage of transportation revenue will decline significantly over the next decade, meaning more of the user fees Wisconsinites pay — like the gas tax and vehicle registration fee — will go toward better roads.
State highway conditions will stabilize.
Polling shows the public supports paying the additional user fee if it means road conditions improve. In a recent poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and released by the Association of Wisconsin Tourism Attractions, nearly six out of 10 voters said they are willing to pay an extra $4 a month to create an immediate solution to fix the roads.