Everyone in Wisconsin–from lawmakers in the state Capitol to families in places such as Kenosha, Wausau, and Superior–faces a difficult decision in the very near future: find a way to sustainably pay for our roads, bridges, and highways, or cut back significantly and face the consequences.
That’s the sobering reality presented in the independent Wisconsin Policy Forum’s latest report out Thursday, titled “Road Map.”
The report looks at the state’s road conditions, where and how money has been spent, and the fact that Wisconsin relies heavily on a stagnant gas tax and vehicle registration fees to support its Transportation fund.
That’s forced a “triage” approach to maintaining the state highway system with Band-Aid repairs that cost taxpayers more in the long run, putting us hundreds of millions of dollars a year behind the eight ball.
“While little of the analysis or warnings about the condition of our transportation funding system are new, we are reaching an inflection point–fiscally, technologically and demographically–that makes the stakes of ignoring long-term reforms to fund our roads, bridges and highways even higher than ever,” said Steve Baas, Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association (WTBA) Executive Director.
One of the biggest culprits, the study finds, is the state gas tax, which hasn’t changed since Wisconsin lawmakers stopped indexing for inflation in 2006. That left behind up to $2.9 billion more in gas tax revenue from 2007-2022, the report says. Inflation overall has driven up the cost of construction by 56.8% nationally and 26.6% in Wisconsin just since 2020.
“At the end of the day it’s about the vision for the future,” Baas said. “Our economy stands on manufacturing, agriculture and tourism – all are incredibly dependent on roads and transportation. If we are going to grow the state’s economy, creating a sustainable sufficient funding model to support smart asset management is an imperative. “The cost of doing nothing is prohibitive for Wisconsin communities and the Wisconsin economy.”
