National Effort To Direct Stimulus Spending Away From New Highways

In other words, away from adding at least $200 million in unnecessary and wasteful new lanes on I-94 from Milwaukee to Illinois, and towards repairs of roads and bridges first.

The coalition Transportation For America makes this salient point:

"Now is not the time to squander money on wasteful projects or to give states a blank check for new road construction. We must demand accountability and transparency from the states. We simply cannot afford to build new roads to crumbling bridges."

I'd add transit to the to-do list, especially rail, where Wisconsin is deficient, and where rail-oriented development would add long-term benefits at stations and along routes.

The I-94 plan is part of a $6.5 billion, 25-year, seven-county regional freeway expansion and reconstruction plan, with 127 miles of new lanes added to several major highways.

The plan was crafted by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC), an unelected body, and on which the City of Milwaukee, with a population larger than five of the seven individual counties, has no direct representation.

The Milwaukee Common Council and Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors opposed adding any new lanes in the City of Milwaukee, and the Common Council also recently asked the state to drop the two new lanes to and from Illinois in favor of a pending commuter rail plan - - but SEWRPC's governing body of 21 appointed commissioners and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation have turned down these requests.

The I-94 expansion is also the subject of a federal civil rights complaint.

There are multiple posts about the regional planning commission and the freeway expansion plan available through the search function on the top left of the blog home page.