August 23, 2007...10:27 pm
HWY. 41 TO COST MORE THAN MARQUETTE INTERCHANGE
Writing at The Political Environment, James Rowen directs us to an item in the Fond du Lac Reporter Daily Reporter, which points out that the the improvements and widening of Highway 41 will eventually cost more than the reconstruction of the Marquette Interchange.
There is no shortage of major state road projects on the horizon.
Among the largest scheduled is the expansion of U.S. Highway 41 in northeastern Wisconsin, where the Winnebago County section alone carries an estimated cost of $337.5 million. Further expansion of the road in Brown County will run an additional $379 million, while expanding the northern leg from Oconto to Peshtigo with two bypasses was last estimated at $132.6 million.
All combined, the Highway 41 expansion has a higher price tag than the $810 million Marquette Interchange project.
Rowen correctly points a finger at former Assembly Speaker John Gard, but don’t forget the Dr. Frankenstein who created the monster known as the Road Builders: Tommy Thompson. The Road Builders are now one of the four most powerful influences in state government and politics, along with the teachers’ union, the trial lawyers and the Indians.
And a bipartisan monster as well. The Road Builders have politicians from both parties in their pockets. And the clout to make them say, “Yes, Massah!” Put it this way: when the Road Builders say “Jump!” the Legislature for the most part says “How high?
Remember the little thing called the automatic annual increase in the state gas tax? The Road Builders loved that idea; some members of the Legislature worked very hard to get that automatic tax increased repealed and paid for it with their jobs. The Road Builders targeted those lawmakers for defeat and succeeded in defeating those on the ballot in November 2006.
Result? Cowardly legislators agreed to a 40 percent increase on transportation spending with the funding mechanism to be determined in an off-year with none of the cowards on the ballot. The driving force were two big-spending RINO’s in the pockets of the Road Builders, Rep. Mark Gottlieb and Sen. Dan Kapanke.
While I disagree with Rowen in that he feels the money should be spent on rail projects which no one but a bunch of elitists want, he is correct in pointing out that this type of spending is outrageous.
Frankly, I’d like to see it prioritized to replace bridges that need to be replaced and highways that are in need of repair, not given to some legislator’s district as pork in the state budget.
8 Comments
August 23, 2007 at 10:53 pm
I can’t find fault with widening and improving a highway that is used heavily like US41. It was the massive expansion of highways in WI (Like WI29) that was is and was a problem. Imagine what the bills are going to look like in 20 years when some repair projects are going to be needed on highways recently built? This only gets worse. -Ken
August 23, 2007 at 10:59 pm
There was talk about making US 41 part of the federal interstate highway system to make it eligible for federal funds, but that must not have gone anywhere.
My problem with the Feed Me Monster known as the Road Builders is it’s never enough. More taxes, more spending, more useless projects to fatten some WTBA member’s pocket.
The Legislature wants to increase transportation spending by 40 percent? How much is enough? Higher gas taxes, higher auto registration and license fees, all to fatten the transportation fund, which is already missing the money Diamond Jim stole out of it to pay off the thugs at WEAC.
What should be done in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Kenosha counties is expand I-94 to four lanes in all directions to handle the volume of traffic. The current three lanes was designed in the 1960s to handle much less traffic. Now, you see Chicago-style traffic jams because the expressway wasn’t designed to handle the volume of traffic.
Typically, the elitists look at ways to reduce the number of vehicles, rather than fix the problem. Kinda like “Don’t raise the bridge, lower the river.”
August 24, 2007 at 1:46 pm
The story is from The Daily Reporter (www.dailyreporter.com), based in Milwaukee, not the Fond du Lac Reporter.
August 24, 2007 at 3:46 pm
Peter,
You assume that building more lanes will somehow relieve congestion and as an example you site the “Chicago like” congestion. Yes congestion is horrible in Chicago and it would be horrible with double the amount of lanes there. I’m all for rebuilding the Zoo interchange. This would solve much of the I94 backups. However, to spend Billions to make more lanes is ridiculous. See Gretchen at CASH (milwaukeerising.blogpsot.com) for real life studies that show this.
I’m tired of this argument that if I don’t use it I shouldn’t have to pay for it. How often have you been on boat in downtown Milw and required the bridge be raised so you can go under it? This extra ability costs Millions that would not be necessary to simply build a fixed bridge. Industry no longer requires the bridges North of Downtown to raise and lower to get commercial traffic through. This extra add-on is simply for the pleasure boaters. Why aren’t you and others screaming about having to pay for extras that you do not use (assuming you’re not a boater whose boat is too big for the bridge)? How often do you fly out of Timmermann airport or any of the other small non-commuter airports around the state? Aren’t you tired of spending Millions so that a few privileged people can fly in and out on their private planes? The hypocrisy of not supporting public transportation is astounding!
August 24, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Expanding the I-system only makes sense to handle the volume. I don’t care about her “studies.” Studies can be manipulated to show whatever the researcher wants to show.
As for the second part, there is no point in building stuff the vast majority of people won’t use. Idiotic rail projects, unless you are in Chicago or New York, where parking is a premium, both in terms of availability and price, there isn’t enough demand to justify it. Every rail project overestimates ridership while lowballing cost. Every one of them. Usually a factor of 10.
So someone who is a private pilot is now privileged? When will you leftards quit trying to pit groups of people against one another. Just because I don’t care to get my pilot’s license doesn’t mean that someone who wants a license is somehow “privileged.” Same with your bridge example.
August 24, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Then why should we pay for them? We don’t use them!
August 25, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Comments posted don’t appear to originate from the Green Bay area because no one has mentioned the extensive upgrades to this area about 6 years ago and just prior to that all new bridges and work done to the potion of Hwy 41 from Ashwaubenon(translate Packer Stadium area) to south of De Pere., bridges built for two lanes, a big duh!
This work is needed but the planning, a real stretch, translates into jobs programs for road builders, unions and the mobs of suppliers that follow. Our DOT, an acronym for Dept. of Taxwasters, is suspect in my book and dearly in need of an audit.
The tool of audit has worked very well for the IT debacles at the State, but will the DOT allow this light to be shed on their dark little corner of government?
August 26, 2007 at 11:45 am
From the Green Bay area here, and yes, I agree that was certainly a lack of foresight as we definitely need the 6 lanes on 41 (and not just on game days
)!!
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