Wisconsin receives extra $91 million in federal road aid as officials struggle with plan

MADISON - Wisconsin is getting nearly $91 million in extra road money through a federal program — far more than it typically receives — at a time when highway funding has become a top issue in Gov. Scott Walker’s re-election bid.

The extra money will give the GOP governor a chance to move up some projects but is well short of enough to close a long-standing gap between funding available for roads and the cost of the work the state has identified that needs to be done in the coming years...

"Governor Scott Walker’s statement that the state should add fewer lanes when it rebuilds highways finally acknowledges our longstanding call to right-size the state’s roadway network and prioritize scarce transportation dollars on fixing the infrastructure we have, instead of adding new unneeded capacity," said a statement from Ashwat Narayanan, the transportation policy director for the environmental group 1000 Friends of Wisconsin."

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Ken Notes: Imagine if we added one BRT / Mass Transit lane to our system between major Metro Areas. We would be ready for a future of alternative fuel options using a variety of vehicles. These lanes could be incorporated into rebuilds of our current system for pennies on the dollar.