WI Roadway Infrastructure Recommendations Must See the Light of Day
WI Roadway Infrastructure Recommendations Must See the Light of Day
by Meg Gordon
[Splash photo by Eugene Triguba on Unsplash]
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (aka the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal) has passed. Will that money be spent wisely for long-term sustainability? Meaningful action rests in the hands of politicians, some of whom will be looking for short-term appeal as they pander for reelection. Wisconsin’s troubled roadways earned a D+ grade with respect to meeting future needs, resilience, innovation, health and safety from the American Society of Civil Engineers 2020 Infrastructure Report Card, a professional civil and environmental engineer-led assessment that meticulously documents the state of the nation’s infrastructure every four years. It is a time-intensive volunteer effort and a public service. The results should not be squandered.
A bump, a surge and a zing of fear-driven adrenaline. Brian Udovich, an experienced cyclist, runner, husband and father, was training on his bike one evening on a Waukesha County roadway with a full complement of lights for maximum visibility. So the shove from behind took him by surprise and in the split seconds following as he struggled to keep his bike upright he realized what was up. The pickup truck—that pulled alongside then sped away—had clipped him.
Udovich is no novice when it comes to Wisconsin roadways. A professional engineer, he is Highway Operations Manager for the Jefferson County Highway Department and recently served as lead author of the Wisconsin roads section of the American Society of Civil Engineers 2020 Infrastructure Report Card. Udovich knows he was lucky with respect to the recent hit and run. “When roadway traffic travels around the same speed, there is less chance for accidents,” he explains.
Vehicle miles traveled in Wisconsin continue trending upward, as does the scope of users—rapid transit busses, big cars and trucks, industrial-sized farm equipment, UTVs, ATVs, bikes, trikes, rollerblades, rollerskis, skateboards, scooters, and all their e-permutations (not to mention pedestrians, runners, dog walkers and, lately, little food delivery robots).
“All these different modes mean people and vehicles are traveling at different speeds so, integrating all types of vehicles while trying to make it safe for everyone is a huge challenge,” says Udovich.
Paved shoulders? Separate bike paths? Wisconsin needs a multi-modal transportation infrastructure that functions as a cooperative system for long-term use, rather than individual modes pitted against one another, competing for limited funds—a patchwork of disrepair.
The physical condition of WI roadways is costing taxpayers about $1.9 billion per year in lost time and wasted fuel due to congestion, crashes, vehicle wear and tear. “Lack of effective and sustainable improvements to the system are doing little to reduce the nearly 600 fatalities and over 32,000 injuries that occur on Wisconsin roads,” says Martin Hanson, retired transportation engineer, who is now a transportation policy consultant with Starboard Tack Consulting.
Many Wisconsin roads were built 50-plus years ago, and a cycle of maintenance upgrades being left undone is the current norm. A policy of disinvestment favored by Wisconsin politicians for decades means new technologies, innovative engineering and other tools have not been sustainably applied to our roadways because steady funding has not been made available.
The legislature’s lack of attention to providing equitable, adequate, and sustainable investments in long-term planning is one part of the problem. Lack of sustained development of a skilled and technical workforce—the people who actually build our infrastructure, do the wiring, operate the heavy equipment, etc. amidst moving traffic—also contributes to WI’s D+ grade.
“With the shortfall in state funding for local governments, road maintenance is one of the places municipalities tend to cut to stretch local dollars further,” explains Udovich. “We are asking a lot by expecting roads to last two times their estimated lifetime.”
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is a step in the right direction, but fails to address long-term needs, Hanson points out. “It’s a shot in the arm—a five-year bill.” Wisconsin (and other states) can get a jump-start on highly critical projects, but there is nothing to provide for a sustainable funding source.
“Attractive bonding rates are the current life-preserver for our transportation program absent any action on funding redesign,” says Hanson. “The federal gas tax was last increased 29 years ago, and inflation of construction costs has severely eroded its purchasing power over that period. The accelerating trend towards hybrid and electric vehicles will further grind down transportation revenues, exacerbating the lack-of-funding problem.”
“Numerous research and pilot programs around the country have demonstrated how this problem can be addressed,” says Hanson. “But the fact remains, the political will to move any of these ideas forward is non-existent in both parties.”
If you receive blog posts by email, our system automatically inserts “by Brook Soltvedt.” Brook is the webmaster, not the author of the blog.
Would you like to be notified by email when the latest Swinging for the Fences blog post is available? Sign up here!