Foreigners had more than $1 billion to fund state roads

Such investments often made profitable via tolls

MADISON - Canadian and British investors told Wisconsin transportation officials last year they had more than $1 billion available to fund highways in Milwaukee and around the United States, newly released records show.

State Transportation Secretary Dave Ross recently disclosed he had met with a representative of the investors but rejected the idea.

Documents released under the state’s open records law provide a few more details about the proposal.

In November, Jamie Manson of Icon Infrastructure told state officials in a letter he was interested in investing in Milwaukee highways and had about $1.4 billion available for such projects.

Manson addressed his letter to Gov. Scott Walker but sent it to Ross. Manson works in the Toronto office of Britain-based Icon and stated in his letter he was working in partnership with Berkeley Advisors of London.

He did not explicitly say how his proposal would work. Often in such arrangements, private companies build or maintain roads for states and recoup their costs — and make profits — with tolls.

“With your acknowledgment, we would like to engage with you and your team to learn more about the specific highway-related projects that you are seeking to fund,” Manson wrote.

Ross and Deputy Secretary Bob Seitz agreed to meet with Tom Morrison to hear more about the proposal. The records didn’t make clear if Morrison represented Icon, Berkeley or another company.

The meeting was held in February, three months after Morrison asked for one.

“This meeting is not a huge priority to get on Dave’s calendar,” Seitz wrote of Ross to a DOT scheduler in December.

Manson and Morrison did not respond to questions for this article.

Ross mentioned the meeting in passing last month at a small private gathering at the Madison headquarters of business lobbying group Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. He said he had rejected the proposal.

After the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel asked about the meeting with investors, Seitz said it was held to hear out Morrison but DOT officials had not embraced the idea.

At a recent stop in Milwaukee, GOP Gov. Scott Walker said there was nothing significant to the investor meeting.

“To me that’s the biggest non-story ever that someone asked for a meeting, proposed an idea and our secretary of … transportation ultimately said he wasn’t interested in it,” Walker said.