Northwestern Wisconsin has the worst local roads in the state, according to a recent report calling on state lawmakers to direct funding from highway megaprojects to local infrastructure.
Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group, 1,000 Friends of Wisconsin and the Sierra Club compiled a report using data from the state Department of Transportation. It suggests nearly 45 percent of roads in northwestern Wisconsin are substandard with 7,000 miles in need of immediate repair.
Peter Skopec of WISPIRG said the groups want lawmakers to move funding from megaprojects to local roads.
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“We do not have to tax more, we don’t have to borrow more, we don’t even have to spend more right now to fix Wisconsin’s local transportation crisis,” he said. “What we have to do instead is get Wisconsin’s spending priorities straight.”
Skopec said the proposed state budget reserves $720 million for local road aids, while more than twice that would go to four large projects in southern Wisconsin.
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