WisDOT Coming Under Increasing Fire Over One-Sided Highway Spending

The refusal of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) to consider transit services in its $1.9 billion plan to rebuild and widen I-94 from Milwaukee to Illinois has led to detailed, written objections from the City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works.

Since this is agency-to-agency, engineer-to-engineer, bureaucrat-to-bureaucrat disagreement over a major state project, the DPW letter has genuine significance.

Excellent posts on the subject are here, by Citizens Allied for Sane Highways, and also here by Michael Horne - - and the matter will continue to fester, as WisDOT wants to shut down the public comment period so it doesn't have to listen to anymore criticism.

(UPDATE: Federal officials have directed WisDOT to extend the public comment through January 25, 2008, after critics said that WisDOT had chosen a holiday-heavy comment period from mid-November through December 31 that discouraged broad participation.

Comments can be sent by email to: dotsefreeways94nsc [at] dot [dot] state [dot] wi [dot] us)