Racine Mayor John Dickert
A coalition of Wisconsin mayors want emergency funding from the state to help them make road repairs. The harsh winter weather left its mark on Wisconsin’s roads, creating way more potholes than usual and causing damage to other parts of the infrastructure in communities across the state. Racine Mayor John Dickert, president of the Urban Alliance, says many municipalities are struggling to keep up with needed repairs, and his own crews are “absolutely slammed right now.”
Also at issue is how to pay for all the work that needs to be done. While communities do budget for the repairs that are usually needed after a Wisconsin winter, Dickert says Urban Alliance members estimate the extra work that’s needed after the extreme cold and deep frost lines of this winter could top $12 million statewide. To help cover some of those excess costs, the Alliance is calling on Governor Scott Walker to set aside emergency funding for communities that need to make repairs to roads, water mains, and other infrastructure damaged by the cold.
Dickert says the repairs have to be made and, if the state doesn’t offer some help, the money will have to come from somewhere else.