Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Wisconsin

Wisconsin's $800 million Marquette Interchange is so large and complex, project leaders joked "it could create its own weather." Photo: Lunda Construction

Wisconsin Highway Costs Exceed State DOT Estimates By Nearly 100%

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 27, 2017 | 3 Comments

Highway costs have nearly doubled WisDOT's projections, and the overruns will be even bigger for projects that are still in the works. But Governor Scott Walker isn't interested in reining in highway spending.

Scott Walker’s Own Party Rejects His Milwaukee Highway Boondoggle

By Tanya Snyder | Jul 6, 2015 | 1 Comment

Governor Scott Walker might be too busy campaigning for president to care, but the Wisconsin legislature handed him a rebuke last week, rejecting his plans for debt-fueled highway expansion. The Republican-controlled legislature’s Joint Finance Committee trimmed about 35 percent off Walker’s proposed $1.3 billion in borrowing for highways. If approved by the Assembly and Senate — a big […]

Calculating the Big Impact of Sprawl on Cities’ Bottom Line

By Angie Schmitt | Apr 8, 2015 | 5 Comments

When someone builds a new home, does it make the city stronger and more fiscally sound? Or does it drain public resources? The answer depends a lot on where it’s sited and, more specifically, where it lies in relation to other homes and businesses. Smart Growth America has developed a fiscal impact model that helps predict how developments […]

Wisconsin Dumps One Urban Highway Boondoggle in Favor of Another

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 19, 2015 | 5 Comments

One of the nation’s most poorly conceived highway proposals will become slightly less ridiculous. Transportation officials in Wisconsin recently announced they will no longer consider double-decking a portion of Interstate 94 in Milwaukee. The billion-dollar project would have raised the highway to building height in the Story Hill neighborhood. Wisconsin DOT hasn’t seen the light, […]

What the Results of 8 Governors’ Races Mean for Cities and Transit

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 5, 2014 | 8 Comments

Yesterday’s elections returned some of the nation’s most anti-urban, anti-transit governors to power in races where they were supposed to be vulnerable. Pro-transit candidates were unexpectedly routed in some states, though a few did manage to hang on. For more background on these races, check out yesterday’s election preview. Here’s what to expect going forward. […]

WisDOT Falls Back on Old Data to Justify Double-Decker Urban Highway

By Phineas Baxandall and Jeff Inglis | Sep 19, 2014 | 1 Comment

U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group released a report yesterday, “Highway Boondoggles: Wasted Money and America’s Transportation Future.” In it, they examine 11 of the most wasteful, least justifiable road projects underway in America right now. Here’s the latest installment in our series profiling the various bad decisions that funnel so much money to infrastructure that does […]

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