State Representative testifies on Rural Roads Funding Bill

Friday, May 26th, 2023 -- 1:01 PM

(Bob Hague, WRN) At the Capitol, an effort to fix rural roads.

A farmer who serves in the state Assembly says a road repair bill under consideration is a good start to fixing rural infrastructure. “Here, we find ourselves with some one-time money. I can’t think of a better use for it because the need is so great.”

Republican Travis Tranel of Cuba City says if the state doesn’t start now, it will never be able to upgrade rural infrastructure. “We acknowledge that we are not going to be able to fix all 62-thousand miles of town road at once, but there are some roads that make a lot of sense to invest in, and the way we decided to go about identifying those roads are roads that have a significant amount of economic activity.”

Tranel testified Tuesday that some local roads and bridges can no longer handle the weight and wear of hauling ag and forestry products. If passed and signed by the Governor, the state would send 150 million dollars of the projected state surplus to local governments to repair or upgrade restricted or damaged roads important to agriculture.

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