New Report: How does Wisconsin Stimulus Spending Stack Up?

Madison, WI – On Monday June 29, WISPIRG and the Urban Economic Development Association of Milwaukee (UEDA) will join Smart Growth America in releasing a new report ranking Wisconsin among the 50 states with respect to how wisely it has committed stimulus dollars to transportation projects.  Drawing on data reported to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the report will examine the extent to which Wisconsin’s projects will meet urgent economic recovery and transportation objectives, including creating the most jobs, investing in public transportation, and fixing our crumbling infrastructure.  

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), signed into law by President Obama in February, provided about $28 billion in funding based on the spending conditions in the federal Surface Transportation Program (STP) – $529 million of which was made available to Wisconsin.  States have wide latitude to invest it in a variety of kinds of transportation projects, including: public transit capacity, pedestrian and bike routes, repair and preventive maintenance of bridges and roads, and new and widened roads and highways. According to the U.S Department of Transportation’s Office of Public Affairs, the ARRA required states to choose projects for funding that will account for half of their transportation stimulus dollars within 120 days of the date the funds were apportioned to states; that deadline will occur Monday, June 29.

The report will evaluate how Wisconsin chose to use its $529 million in STP funds on projects that create and save the most jobs, fix our crumbling infrastructure, modernize the public transportation system, and promote long-term economic growth.  It also analyzes how the spending decision process was handled by the Governor, the Office of Recovery and Reinvestment, and local Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs).

Posted @ 8:00 a.m.