Wisconsin’s roads getting worse

As you hit the roads for the holidays, you are certain to notice the poor condition of Wisconsin’s roads. Failing to address Wisconsin’s crumbling infrastructure has been an ongoing problem for state lawmakers. Legislators chose to borrow more than a billion dollars to pay for the state’s road needs, but that isn’t even enough to pay for those projects already planned. They even had to go into a special session to approve the borrowing, but still didn’t get it right. Putting the money for road work on the credit card is not the answer. La Crosse State Senator Jennifer Shilling says democrats and republicans can work together to come up with a sustainable road-funding plan, but so far that hasn’t happened, and there is no reason to think it will anytime soon. The gas tax no longer generates the revenue needed to cover road costs. Paying for new and better roads out of general revenue funds forces road needs to compete with funding for schools and other state spending needs. This should not be a partisan issue. We all have to drive on the same roads. Our lawmakers need to figure out ways to pay for the roads we use without having to cut funding for schools or other priorities. Meanwhile, our roads continue to deteriorate. A new report from the American Society of Civil Engineers finds Wisconsin’s roads rank as the third worst in the nation, with nearly two thousand bridges in the state ranked as either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. So as you travel for the holidays, and jostle your way down the road, remember, the way lawmakers are failing to address our roads, they are going to get worse before they get better.