Again I say. Why not a toll system? Is there some real reason why after all theses years that this interstate highway that goes through our State and through Janesville, does not have a toll system. I'd rather pay toll than pay higher Taxes!

Really funny how Walker slammed Doyle for not acting fast enough to start the projects. If we have a surplus now in WI on the backs of public workers, how come the delay?

This is all smoke and mirrors. Scott Walker is employing the shock doctrine in order to get his state highway funding plan passed. What a responsible Governor would have done is raise the minimum threshold for getting a highway project funded in 2011 so that there would have been enough money to complete the projects already set up for funding in 2013. Instead, he green-lighted the I39/90 expansion from Madison to Illinois and other costly projects. The proof of this is the fact that he has had a transportation finance and policy commission loaded with pro-highway lobbyists working on a plan to raise new taxes for highways.

Instead of caving to Walker's shock doctrine, we should calmly step back and ask how many permanent jobs are going to be created by having taxpayers pay more toward highways. Sadly, the answer is probably negative. See, the ROI on highways has probably dropped below the return of leaving the money in the private sector:

http://editorialexpress.com/cgi-bin/conf...

See page 22 for the graph of the return of highways versus private investment. As you can see, the return in the 50's and 60's was excellent, producing an overall benefit for every taxpayer dollar. Today, the two lines have converged, meaning there is little benefit to expanding highway funding

A real question....What benefit do these road projects give to the rest of the state? The entire population pays for these limited use projects while needed repairs around the state are not made due to no monies available. Public safety should include the entire state in my opinion.

Oldvet: Now that the elections are over, don't you think it's time to move on?

Our road budget is constrained because of the lack of gas tax revenue. Thanks to increased vehicle fuel economy and a sluggish real economy, gas consumption is back to levels around a decade ago - this lower consumption results in lower tax collection. If we want roads, we need money to pay for them - this means *gasp* an increase in the gas tax to re-balance tax revenue with needs.

So this means that the bridges they widened (around Janesville, Ruger ave, Milwaukee ave.,etc. and I assume other locations) about 10 years ago to accommodate the additional lanes will have been sitting there unused, blocked off and aging for 15-20 years. Some more Brilliant planning and spending of our tax money.
Sigh, sadly These planners vote (probably for Obama) and they breed.

witsend: there is NO toll option. I-90 was built as a freeway with federal funds for the interstate highway project. By Federal law it can not be turned into a tollway. The Illinois Toll Highways were built with bonds that allowed it to be a tollway.
IF Wisconsin wants a Tollway, they must build it.
They could convert the hwy 26 bypass to tolls.

jocose and usaret, I agree with you. Delaying needed repairs and improvements will definitely lead to higher costs in the future and very likely, the poor condition of the road will cause more harm, and perhaps some fatalities. The Governor really needs to address this NOW. The “Gov. Scott Walker will introduce a complete budget next year, “and one of his priorities will be investing in the state's infrastructure,” Werwie told the Gazette.”… is baloney. The safety of people comes first and safety can’t be put off.

How about we hire a few more state patrols to enforce the speed limit -- that may make this stretch of highway safer until we get enough money to widen it. That itself would be a gold mine on weekends when people are heading to their summer cottages.

Then there's always the toll option.

Delay only means that when they finally start the project it will cost even more.

So the cost of human lives isn't important enough for Scooter to prioritize this much needed project. Makes you wonder...

Obviously we can't afford to do this; according to our Gov., our state is broke and according to recent news reports, there is less revenue available for road projects. We need to spend the little money we have available to maintain our current roads. Sorry, this is going to have to wait a few years until we can actually afford it.