DOT Secretary says more highways need fixing, and more money needs to be found

Wanted to forward you to an interview WisDOT Secretary did with Capitol reporters Steven Walters and Patrick Marley on WisEye’s “Rewind” show on Friday. Lots of things to chew on over this 20-minute discussion.



Here is a quick rundown of the things that grabbed me.

1. On DOT revenues - Thompson says he thinks the gas tax is a better way to get extra funding over the methods WisGOP chose (mostly through increases in small vehicle and title fees), but the added money is welcomed in 2019-21. Thompson also said tolling is in play as a revenue source in the future (!), and that basing vehicle registration fees on miles traveled isn't a bad idea, but that VMT should be uniformly done at the federal level.

2. The one-time $75 million addition from General Fund is a “one-off” is not worthwhile, and ongoing/permanent revenue is a better option than gimmicks designed to get through the next budget. And Thompson responded to GOP complaints about Evers' veto-based changes to the one-time money (described in detail in this post) by saying the Milwaukee streetcar will NOT be part of the $75 million in new funding. Thompson said the City won’t ask for streetcar money and Evers wouldn’t give it to them anyway.

3. Thompson is fine with WisGOP enumerating a project that would expand I-41 between Appleton and GB. But he notes that it'll cost $1 billion, and while 2019-21 is helped with the new money, Thompson says additional revenue increases are going to be needed in the future to continue to pay for these projects over the next few years.

4. Thompson also goes over a number of other projects that are in the pipeline and/or will be completed in the near future.

In SE Wisconsin
I-94 by Miller Park – already spent $2.5 billion between Zoo and Marquette Interchanges, so why aren’t we fixing up the part in-between. But feds need to give another look at what to prioritize, may be in 2021-23, but not sure. On a related note, the Zoo Interchange work should be completely done in 2022.

I-94 by Foxconn – DOT officials looked at “death trap” area, and now crashes are down. Increased marking and law enforcement, and people should SLOW DOWN. Should be 4 lanes by Fall, and will finish up and completed in June of next year.

I-43 north of Milwaukee has been enumerated, and some money has been freed up from other projects ending, so it should start up relatively soon. But Thompson's not sure of exactly when that can be completed.

Madison area
I-39/90 south of the city should be done by mid-2022. And where 39/90 connects with the Beltline, Thompson says WisDOT will go with cheaper options, which would be enough to get us by for the next decade. But the Beltline-Interstate connection will need more work in the 2030s.

On the other end of the Beltline, the long-time Verona Road project and interchange should be done in the next year (FINALLY).

5. The large number of these ongoing projects and others around the state is why Thompson calls for a return of the state's Transportation Projects Commission, which hasn’t met since 2013. Thompson says that Committee should be meeting twice a year to see where we are, and to figure out best use of available funds for all of the state's needs.

6. Marley from the Journal-Sentinel indicates that any veto override set up by the GOP Legislature will likely be a “show vote” more than any legitimate attempt to have their original bill enshrined into law. Neither the Assembly or Senate is 2/3 GOP, and Marley says they likely aren’t coming back until October anyway (but don't worry, the legislators will still be getting paid by us!). That delay makes it even dumber to try an override, since WisDOT is already taking grant applications for that $75 million, and Thompson says he wants to get the money out the door as soon as they can.

I'll also note that Thompson ends the interview by noting that underfunding at the DOT has been going for 15 years, and won’t be solved in a 2-year budget. So this issue will crop up again in future years and in our upcoming elections, because there are a lot of Scottholes and other underfunded infrastructure in Wisconsin that needs to be worked on.