La Crosse County and Madison aren't buying what WisDOT is trying to sell

With each week, we see more examples of the problems that are the result of Scott Walker and the Wisconsin GOP's refusal to raise enough money to fix the state's roads. Two more of these happened inn different corners of the 608 area code this last week.

The first happened when DOT Secretary Dave Ross spoke to the La Crosse Chamber of Commerce, and found himself unable to defend the current road funding situation in Fitzwalkerstan. Ross admitted to the group that "we need more money for the local road program," and said the way to do so was...not doing bigger projects and rushing the ones that are left?

One way the state could free up more money for local road funding, Ross said, would be to take on fewer “mega projects.” The state is involved in five such projects now, but if the state didn’t take on so many there would be more money to share with counties and municipalities for their roads.

Also, he said, the state could free up money for local road through “efficiencies” and completing projects more quickly.

Local La Crosse County officials weren’t buying it.

“How do you go faster? What’s the incentive, what’s the plan for making those projects go faster?” [La Crosse County Board Chair Tara] Johnson said. “The notion that cutting up the pie differently is going to solve the problem is disappointing.”

“I have to disagree with the secretary on the funding stream issue,” [La Crosse County Highway Commissioner Ron] Chamberlain added. “We haven’t seen inflationary increases to keep up with inflation. Simply reallocating existing funds does not address that issue.”

Yes, there are plenty of alligator scales in La Crosse

And the needs are immediate, as the Scottholes continue to add up. Much of the reason those needs have piled up is because the state has failed to hold up its end of the bargain when it comes to helping to get these local roads fixed.

At one time, General Transportation Aid payments from the state to local governments covered about 30 percent of local road work, but that has been shrinking for years, down to about 18 percent now. Chamberlain maintains that even with a return to the historic 30 percent GTA level, the county needs to do something to address its list of $101 million in identified road and bridge needs.

Which has led La Crosse County to have advisory referenda put to its voters to ask what they would be OK with as a way to pay for these projects. This includes imposing a 0.5% sales tax, a $56 wheel tax, and/or allowing the County's property taxes to rise by 15%. I'd love to hear Walker try to sell to those people that "I've kept your taxes down."

We also found out today that WisDOT is also thinking of passing the buck on another road project - the Badger Interchange where the US 12-18 Beltline reaches Interstate 39-90 south of Madison. The Wisconsin State Journal reported today that WisDOT isn't planning to finish the Interchange for another 4 years (which means you'll still be exiting left to get on the Beltline), and once the project finally does start, WisDOT will shrink the Interstate from 3 lanes to 2 at the exit, and not restore the 3rd lane until traffic from 12-18 merges back on.

Much like we saw in La Crosse County, those WisDOT plans are not being received well.

Overhauling the interchange without expanding to three lanes in both directions — which would be the case north and south of the interchange — would crimp the flow of northbound traffic, causing “significant safety concerns,” said Craig Thompson, director of the Transportation Development Association of Wisconsin, a group of business, labor and local governments that advocate for more spending on roads, bridges and transit.

“It would be a monumental waste of taxpayer dollars to build a brand-new bottleneck,” Thompson said.

Madison-area officials also lambasted the plan. Mayor Paul Soglin called it “crazy” and said it would cost lives.

The exit on the left would now be on the right, but....

Walker's DOT responded by saying that the move was a good way to conserve scarce dollars, and wouldn't cause problems.

The plan would save about $14 million compared to the other alternative being considered, which would expand the interstate to three lanes both directions through the interchange. Both alternatives would eliminate a left-lane exit ramp from northbound I-39/90 to the westbound Beltline, replacing it with a right-lane exit.

[DOT spokesman Christian] Schneider’s statement said the two-lane northbound interstate configuration is not projected to cause traffic bottlenecks at least through 2040.

Much like with other things Christian Schneider says, that's not likely to be the way it'll work out in reality, which means there will be more slowdowns and crashes in this heavily-traveled part of the Interstate.

And by the way, all of these extra issues just to save $14 million? May I remind you that Walker's DOT shifted $134 million this year to upgrade the roads around the Foxconn plant in the SE corner of Wisconsin, while cutting $80 million to $90 million from projects in the rest of the state? Seems like there's an obvious spot we could find the money to maintain the 3 lanes, isn't there?

Again, we keep seeing the results of a Walker Administration and Wisconsin GOP that refuses to admit that taxes are needed to fix the roads and keep things moving. And their failure to deal with the real problems that exist on the ground is making the problems multiply by the year.

Then again, maybe there's a reason Walker doesn't seem too concerned with the issues that keep piling up with road defunding. After all, he doesn't have to deal with them.