Governor Scott Walker has proposed $1.3 billion in new bonding for the state’s transportation needs, but Assembly Speaker Robin Vos on Wednesday said he’s contemplating a transportation budget with no borrowing at all.
Walker now says he’s open to a combination of borrowing and scaling back road projects.
“I think in the end, realistically, what’s likely to come to our desk is a combination of both … that there would be some reduction of bonding and some delays in projects, but not an overal reduction.”
But, would he agree to slowing down the Zoo Interchange project?
“We’ll look at it,” Walker said. “I’ve, in the past, asked my department of transportation officials to make sure that we can find a way to keep that on track. They found considerable savings in the past to keep that on track and I think it’s an important project.”
Vos said members of his caucus think the level of borrowing is “way too high,” especially if the state isn’t generating any new money. Walker again said his budget has the lowest total bonding in ten years.
“We think we’ve got a reasonable approach to keep transportation projects on track going forward through what we present in our original budget.”
The governor has repeatedly said he will not support a budget that increases vehicle registration fees or gas taxes.
