Tag: Toll Roads

“Wisconsin has a major funding shortage for its road building and repair needs. The state’s assembly speaker says he prefers using toll roads if necessary.”   “That’s my preferred option,” Speaker Robin Vos (R-Burlington) told WTMJ’s “Wisconsin’s Afternoon News” Thursday. http://www.wtmj.com/shows/wisconsins-afternoon-news/wisconsin-speaker-robin-vos-toll-roads-my-preferred-option-for-solving-road-funding-gap Speaker Vos wants toll roads in Wisconsin….This article (link below) spells out some of the problems when Michigan looked at having toll roads for transportation funding. Michigan road funding: Why don’t we just turn highways into toll roads? Questions about the toll roads: 1. The proposed toll between the Stateline to Milwaukee on I-94 is a federal interstate. The federal government just spent millions to redo much of that stretch. Under current federal law, most or all of that aid would have to be paid back to the feds. How is this being paid for? Long term debt? Has this been factored into the toll solution?2. Future federal aid will no longer be available for projects related to that stretch. Generally, only 10% is funded by the state. With tolls, the state is on the hook for 100%. Has this 10 fold increase in expense been factored into the toll solution?3. Any revenue generated by the tolls used for…