Skip to Content
Streetsblog California home
Streetsblog California home
Log In

The conventional wisdom about America's infrastructure woes is that cash will solve everything. That's the pitch Donald Trump is making with his vaguely-defined $1 trillion infrastructure package.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
false

But simply spending a lot on infrastructure is no guarantee of better transportation conditions. It can easily make things worse. Wisconsin is a perfect example.

James Rowen at The Political Environment notes that under Governor Scott Walker, Wisconsin has gone on an enormous road spending spree. The state has lavished more than $6 billion on huge highway interchanges in the greater Milwaukee area. But this orgy of road spending has coincided with the neglect of basic maintenance, which even the Walker administration has been forced to admit, the Journal-Sentinel reports:

The share of roads in poor condition will double, debt payments and the state's stream of cash for road and highway projects will barely grow, a state official told lawmakers Tuesday.

By 2027, the share of state roads in poor condition would double to 42% while the money available to address those growing challenges would increase at only one-quarter the recent inflation rate, state Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb testified to lawmakers Tuesday.

The state now has more highways to maintain thanks to the billions Walker spent, which only makes the maintenance backlog worse. Rowen says this situation will cost Wisconsinites dearly:

The SE WI expansion and rebuilding includes 127 new lane miles and many wider ramps -- adding hundreds of millions of dollars to the bottom line, thus slowing down or starving completely other projects statewide and aid to local governments for road repairs which, if left unfunded, only raise local property taxes, so-called vehicle 'wheel taxes,' and motorists costs in blown tires, broken shocks and damaged axles. And nerves.

So get ready for either increased vehicle and licensing fees, or gas taxes, or, more likely, deep service cuts across the board.

Elsewhere on the Network today: The Tri-State Transportation Campaign shows impressive before and after shots of Rochester's "Inner Loop" highway removal. Urban Review STL says what St. Louis needs is form-based code, not old height restrictions. And Streets.mn questions the need for dedicated bike funding.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog California

First OC Streetcar Arrives

The $649 million 4.1-mile OC Streetcar light rail line is 92 percent complete, and now anticipated to open in spring 2026

May 8, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines

California and Trump continue to spar and more news from up and down the state.

May 8, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: ‘Normal’ is Not Correct, Someone Died Here

After a crash, the debris is quickly cleaned up and everyone moves on (usually too quickly). But these two experts are asking us to all slow down.

May 8, 2025

Metro Names Bill Scott as Chief of Police

Chief Scott and Metro leadership emphasized that keeping Metro transit safe would require a multi-faceted approach that included the deployment of officers as well as collaboration with the community, ambassadors, and service providers. "Sometimes enforcement is the answer," Scott said. "Sometimes it's not."

May 7, 2025

State Supreme Court Reinforces Rules that Cities Must Maintain Safe Roads

When Ty Whitehead was injured in a crash caused by a pothole in Oakland, it sparked an eight-year legal battle that is still being waged.

May 7, 2025
See all posts