Contact: Rep. Dana Wachs, 608-266-7461
MADISON-On Thursday, January 26, the Legislative Audit Bureau released their report on Wisconsin’s State Highway Program. Included in the report is data showing that the percentage of state highways in good condition decreased steadily from 2010 to 2015. Upon release of the report, Rep. Dana Wachs (D-Eau Claire), ranking Democrat on the Assembly Committee on Transportation, released the following statement:
“The audit of the State Highway Program provides us with some useful information that should be taken seriously as we continue to discuss our transportation infrastructure. According to the audit, the percentage of state highways in good condition decreased from 53.5% in 2010 to 41% in 2015. The percentage of state highways in poor or worse condition climbed from 7% in 2010 to 17.5% in 2015. This is unacceptable.
Those numbers don’t lie, especially when you consider that Republicans have been in control of state government for the past 6 years. Rough roads cost drivers money in repairs, new tires, and additional maintenance. And as everyone knows, these repairs always seem to come at the worst times, especially for families struggling to get by. Rough roads also leave drivers more susceptible to accidents and in some cases can lead drivers to pay the ultimate price-death.
Rough roads also hurt businesses and commerce. If Wisconsin is to have a successful economy, we need to fix our highways.
We need solutions to fix our roads. We can’t continue to ignore this serious problem. However, we must ensure that the burden for fixing our roads does not fall on the shoulders of lower and middle class families. As the audit shows, what we’ve been doing just isn’t working.”
