By Brian E. Clark
WisBusiness.com
State, federal and local agencies could easily spend billions of dollars in southeastern Wisconsin during the coming decade to improve roads, railways and other forms of transportation.
How those projects should be financed and what form they should take will be key considerations for policy makers and business leaders who want to keep the state’s economy growing, said Richard Chandler, state budget director from 1997-2001 and revenue department secretary from 2001-2003.
Chandler, now a public policy consultant in Madison, will be one of the main speakers at the next “Building the New Wisconsin Economy” forum. It will start at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Waukesha at the County Inn Hotel and Convention Center, 2810 Golf Road.
While the region is not facing the kind of backed-up traffic or even gridlock common in many major American cities, he said traffic volumes have increased greatly in recent years.
Chandler said the state now faces major challenges in maintaining and upgrading its road system to maintain a competitive advantage.
“Business decision-makers throughout the state are constantly striving to be more efficient to remain competitive in the new ecomony, and transportation is a key element in achieving efficiency goals,” he said.
In addition to transportation issues in the busiest corner of the state, the forum will look at how Wisconsin’s energy, recreational, environmental and housing infrastructure can sustain economic growth.
Frank Busalacchi, Wisconsin’s transportation secretary, will give the main overview on challenges facing the state. Mayors from Kenosha, Milwaukee and Racine, along with Waukesha and Milwaukee county executives, also will weigh in on transport problems in their region.
Now that preliminary work has started on the Marquette Interchange, Chandler said one of the key questions facing the $810 million project is slightly more than half of it will be financed.
The reconstruction of the interchange – a four-year project – will have huge impact on Milwaukee. Some important ramps that link I-794 and I-43 may be closed for up to three years.
Though city officials have urged companies to let their employees telecommute – at least some of the time – Busalacchi and others have promised downtown Milwaukee will remain open for business.
Chandler said the next big issue is whether the southeast Wisconsin freeway system should be reconstructed as it is or be rebuilt with modernization and safety improvements while adding capacity to meet the region’s needs for the next 50 years.
The figure for that project could run to $5 billion or more, according to some estimates.
Chandler said additional capacity is probably the most cost-effective way to deal with congestion and would represent just 8 to 12 percent of the total cost.
“But this would also raise the concerns in terms of the impact on neighborhoods affected by reconstruction,” he said.
Chandler said civic planners and business leaders must consider transit system improvements to aid low-income workers, the elderly and the disabled. Public transit also can help alleviate congestion and reduce pollution, he noted.
Wisconsin has long been a leader in providing tax support for transit systems. But he said the state must decide what programs should get aid in the future and what options are most cost-effective.
Chandler also said decisions concerning commuter railroad expansion loom in the future. One is an extension of METRA service from Chicago to Kenosha north to Racine and Milwaukee. Another deals with commuter rail in Dane County. Light rail also is being considered in Milwaukee and Dane County.
“Questions of cost, financing, utilization, financing and benefits all need to be addressed,” he said.
Finally, a high-speed interstate rail system in the Midwest is under consideration, with one of the routes running from Chicago to Minneapolis via Milwaukee and Madison.
While the decision to proceed with this plan is up to the federal government, the state will have to decide how much state assistance to provide.
For more information on the Building the New Wisconsin Economy forum, go to www.bnwe.info.
