Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Network Roundup

Highway Expansion Rampant in Wisconsin, Which "Can't Afford" Rail

Just a few months ago, a handful of governors made a big show of their "budget consciousness" by torpedoing passenger rail projects.

Given that highway projects represent a much larger share of a state's spending, we might expect these fiscal watchdogs to be tamping down on road construction with equal fervor. That does not appear to be the case, however, as we check in with Wisconsin's Scott Walker.

Wisconsin's planning docket is awash with dubious and expensive highway projects that make the state's annual operating costs for the foregone rail project look like chump change. James Rowen at Network blog the Political Environment brings us a sampling of the kind of projects that seemed to have evaded the fiscal scrutiny the rail proposal received:

false

Blog readers have been sending in examples of state highway projects that appear bloated, unneeded or politically-inspired. They are sending me these reminders after I noted the $1.36 billion in major state highway project cost overruns enumerated by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation itself, and I had wondered if such indefensible road-building expenditures would come to the attention of Scott Walker's new commission on fraud, waste and abuse. For example, does Burlington, WI, a city of 10,000, really need a 11-mile, $100 million highway bypass?

A reader reminded me also about the Interchange to Nowhere off I-94 where the Pabst Farms mall has been canceled, and another reader jogged my memory about the widening of State Highway 23 as ordered by the legislature -- (and one of its main backers also opposed the Madison-Milwaukee train: isn't earmarking and dedicated funding oh, so situational?) -- and not through broader state highway planning processes.

And can Wisconsin afford the remaining bulk of the Southeastern Wisconsin Freeway Reconstruction and Expansion plan?  The state completed the $810 million Marquette Interchange project, and is partially-done with the $1.9 billion I-94 North-South leg from Milwaukee to the Illinois State line. But not yet begun or funded as more efficient vehicles and diminished driving cut gas tax collections -- $3.8 billion on various system pieces, across seven counties, of I-94, I-43, I-894 and State Highway 45.

Highway excesses... is Walker interested?

Elsewhere on the Network today: Trains 4 America writes that high speed rail projects around the country are attracting private investment, while road projects continue to require heavy public subsidies. Beyond DC uses historic aerial photos to illustrate how the fabric of urban communities was destroyed by "urban renewal." And Tucson Velo reports that a bike vigil is being held for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: The London Neighborhood Where Bikes Outnumber Cars

...and how they got to that impressive milestone.

July 11, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Battle Galactus

Like the Marvel supervillain, U.S. interstate highway system seems to eat up everything in his path. A new book explores how to stop it.

July 11, 2025

New Report Shows Pedestrian Fatalities Drop — But Experts Say Not Enough

The Governors Highway Safety Association report showed a 4 percent drop in the number of pedestrian deaths last year, putting a slow on a dangerous trend — but advocates say the drop isn't nearly big enough.

July 11, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Localities Subsidize the State DOT

Adie Tomer of Brookings on how to improve regional coordination around infrastructure.

July 10, 2025

Five of the Ugliest Transportation Policies In the ‘Big, Beautiful’ Bill

Here's a rundown of some of the transportation provisions in the Republicans' reconciliation package, and what they might mean for your community.

July 10, 2025

Viva La Thursday’s Headlines

Why is French transit ridership up 10 percent since before the pandemic, while American transit ridership is down 23 percent?

July 10, 2025
See all posts