State receives $66 million from government
Extra funding to help ease strain on roads budget
MADISON - Wisconsin is getting $66 million in additional federal funding for roads, lending a small bit of good news for Republican lawmakers as they try to write the state’s transportation budget next week.
The state is receiving nearly twice what it normally gets in what is known as redistribution aid, but far less than the $341 million in aid that it sought.
The $66 million in additional aid could help the Legislature’s budget committee as it seeks to reach a compromise between Senate Republicans and Assembly Republicans. The GOP controls both houses, but has differed on how to fund roads and help close a $1 billion gap between the state’s road building plans and the amount of money it is expected to have available for transportation over the next two years.
The Joint Finance Committee could take up transportation funding as soon as Tuesday.
Differences among Republicans remain significant. Asked Thursday if the additional money made it easier to reach a transportation deal, state Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette) said, “Not really.”
“In the grand scheme of things, $66 million is not going to do it,” said Nygren, the co-chairman of the budget committee.
When states don’t use all their federal aid, other states can compete for what’s left over.
Wisconsin has received $34 million annually on average through that program in the past five years, according to the Legislature’s nonpartisan budget office. The most the state has ever received since 2012 is $40 million.
Gov. Scott Walker’s administration this year sought to dramatically increase how much it gets through the program and asked for $341 million.
While it fell well short of that amount, the $66.4 million it received was the largest amount the state has ever received, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
“We could not be more pleased with this historic amount of funding that is being received,” Transportation Secretary Dave Ross said in a statement.
It was not immediately clear which projects the money would go toward.
Officials have put a renewed focus on I-94 south of Milwaukee as they seek to lure Foxconn Technology Group to Racine or Kenosha counties. A $3 billion incentive package for the company that is moving through the Legislature includes up to $252 million in borrowing to help rebuild I-94.
Releasing the bonds for I-94 would be contingent on getting additional federal aid.
Additionally, some lawmakers have sought funding for the portion of I-94 between the Zoo and Marquette interchanges in Milwaukee County.
The project was estimated to cost $852 million in 2014 but is expected to cost more than $1 billion by the time it is built. Some of the new federal aid could be used to kick off initial work on the yearslong project.
Wisconsin has received $34 million annually on average through that program in the past five years, according to the Legislature’s nonpartisan budget office. The most the state has ever received since 2012 is $40 million.