Report Looks at the Cost Per Driver of Wausau Residents Due to Road Conditions

Friday, October 13th, 2023 -- 9:01 AM

State and federal transportation funding increases have allowed Wisconsin to move forward with projects to improve the condition, reliability and safety of the state’s transportation system.

Despite these funding increases, Wisconsin still faces challenges in improving and maintaining its transportation system to improve traffic safety, relieve traffic congestion and improve road and bridge conditions.

Roads and bridges that are deteriorated, congested or lack some desirable safety features cost Wisconsin motorists a total of $7.6 billion statewide annually – $1,243 per driver in the Wausau area, due to higher vehicle operating costs, traffic crashes and congestion-related delays.

Increased investment in transportation improvements at the local, state and federal levels could relieve traffic congestion, improve road, bridge and transit conditions, boost safety, and support long-term economic growth in Wisconsin, according to a new report released today by TRIP, a Washington, DC based national transportation research nonprofit.

The TRIP report, “Keeping Wisconsin Mobile: Providing a Modern, Sustainable Transportation System in the Badget State,” finds that throughout Wisconsin, nearly half of major locally and state-maintained roads are in poor or mediocre condition, seven percent of locally and state-maintained bridges (20 feet or more in length) are rated poor/structurally deficient, and 2,967 people lost their lives on the state’s roads from 2018-2022.

Wisconsin’s major urban roads are congested, causing significant delays and choking commuting and commerce. The TRIP report includes statewide and regional pavement and bridge conditions, congestion data, highway safety data, and cost breakdowns for the Eau Claire, Green Bay-Appleton-Oshkosh, Kenosha, Madison, Milwaukee and Wausau areas.

Driving on roads in the Wausau urban area costs the average driver $1,243 per year in the form of extra vehicle operating costs (VOC) as a result of driving on roads in need of repair, lost time and fuel due to congestion-related delays, and the costs of traffic crashes in which the lack of adequate roadway safety features, while not the primary factor, likely were a contributing factor.

The TRIP report finds that 16 percent of major locally and state-maintained roads in the Wausau urban area are in poor condition and another 25 percent are in mediocre condition, costing the average motorist an additional $506 each year in extra vehicle operating costs, including accelerated vehicle depreciation, additional repair costs, and increased fuel consumption and tire wear.

Statewide, 25 percent of Wisconsin’s major roads are in poor condition and 20 percent are in mediocre condition. In the Wausau urban area, nine percent of bridges are rated poor/structurally deficient, with significant deterioration to the bridge deck, supports or other major components.

Statewide, seven percent of Wisconsin’s bridges are rated poor/structurally deficient.

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