Roads in northern Wisconsin are in the poorest shape than anywhere in Wisconsin. That's the conclusion by environmental groups. The group 1000 Friends of Wisconsin found 45 percent of the roads in northwest Wisconsin and 41 percent in northcentral Wisconsin to be in poor shape. Fewer roads in southern Wisconsin were in similar shape.
Elizabeth Ward from the Sierra Club said they were looking at environmental issues concerning transportation, but were struck by the data showing how poor the state's roads have become. She says the money for highway expansion has grown over the last decade, but maintenance money has not kept pace...
"....so we're seeing some of the lowest levels this decade going to our local roads at a time when they're in horrible condition and we need to be fixing them immediately...."
She says from their view, some of the spending is not warranted. A short section of I-94 in Milwaukee is set to be expanded, costing $800 million. She says repair work would cost half that much...
"....a study showed that if we just repaired the road, and didn't expand it, we'd save almost $400 million dollars..."
Ward says traffic volumes have decreased on that stretch of highway.
Ward says the report was timed to draw attention to the issue as the legislature's Joint Finance Committee prepares the budget. Ward says the state is proposing borrowing $1.3 billion with most of it going towards new construction, while the local road monies decrease by one percent. More information is at the website 1kfriends. org
