State Budget Would Help Crawford County Roads
Governor’s proposed budget considered good for Crawford County infrastructure
By Ted Pennekamp
Crawford County Highway Commissioner Dennis Pelock met on Feb. 23 with the Southwest Wisconsin District Commissioners at the Juneau County Highway Department in Mauston to discuss Governor Scott Walker’s $76.1 billion State Budget proposal and what it would mean for county highway departments if it is approved. The Crawford County Highway Department has also been discussing the proposed budget in recent weeks.
According to the budget, there will be $40 million boost in local transportation aids, (a 9.5 percent increase over this year), plus $20 million more for local road and bridge improvements.
“Counties currently receive less in State General Transportation Aid (GTA) payments today than we received five years ago,” said Pelock. “State-wide GTA payments decreased from $104.4 million in 2011 to $98.4 in 2015. The governor’s budget proposes increasing GTA to $111.1 million in this budget. We are pleased to see a proposed increase to GTA for counties as well as the towns, cities and villages. If approved, this increase will bring us back to approximately where we were in 2011 with the increases in the inflationary costs of maintenance and construction. After a recent state-wide survey of county highway departments, the average replacement schedule for a county road is now over 75 years, far longer than the life span of a county trunk highway. Many local municipalities are facing the same street and road construction and maintenance issues.”
Crawford County has numerous deficient bridges, and the budget would be a step forward in addressing this ongoing issue, noted Pelock.
“The governor’s proposed increase of $6 million to the Local Bridge Program is a very positive proposal,” Pelock said. “There presently are 18 bridges that are weight restricted or are considered deficient and eligible for funding for rehabilitation or replacement. Each year more structures reach the end of their life and the numbers increase. Over the past three to four years, seven bridges have been reconstructed on the town and county roads. They were funded from various sources, STP Local Bridge Funding, the Local Roads Improvement Program, and the County Bridge Aid Program along with local funding from the towns and county.”
In addition to bridges, the budget would also help several other aspects of the county’s infrastructure.
“The governor’s proposed increase to the funding in the Local Roads Improvement Project Program (LRIP) will be a boost in assisting the local governments in needed improvements or reconstruction of our local roads and bridges,” said Pelock. “The LRIP Program is a critical funding source for the county, towns, cities and villages. The program has provided funding for projects in almost every municipality in the county. In recent years, with the lack of funding in the STH Local Bridge Program, the towns have shifted much of the funding to reconstruct several bridges on the town road system in Crawford County. This program is administrated out of the Highway Department but projects are reviewed and selected by committees of elected town chairmen, village presidents and the city mayor. The LRIP Program started in 1991 and funds up to 50 percent of project costs.
‘The governor’s budget also is proposing an increase in funding of $1.7 billion for the State Highway Rehabilitation Program. This could have a very positive effect on our local state highway system as it would provide more funding through smaller contractor let projects for resurfacing and small safety improvements on our local state roads.
“Everybody loves more funding for their budget needs, my only hope is that any funding shifts do not negatively affect another agency that is also trying provide, through their service, needs for the general public.”
