DOT’s reasoning for highway expansion is way off says expert

WISPIRG says bad
projections lead to overspending

The justification for expanding highways in Wisconsin comes from DOT projections of how many cars will be on the road in future years.

Those numbers, however, are likely way off, says Peter Skopec from the advocacy group, WISPIRG.

He says those bad projections lead to overspending on highway expansion rather than more pressing transportation needs.

“Like fixing the infrastructure that we already have,” Skopec said, “rather than building new infrastructure that we’re also going to have to pay to maintain.”

This week, the state legislature’s joint finance committee agreed to $350 million in borrowing largely to fund just a few highway expansion projects in the eastern and southern parts of the Wisconsin.