State Republicans will be spending federal road grants to complete repairs on I-94 near Milwaukee.
A vote in the state’s joint finance committee on Thursday will send around $22 million in grants to fund the I-94 expansion project.
Assembly minority leader Katrina Shankland says those funds would be better used elsewhere in the state. “Potholes are not economic development. This is not a real solution. Giving more money to one part of the state will not help the rest of the state’s local roads.”
Democrats had proposed adding the funds Governor Walker wanted for the project to a statewide fund to repair roads.
Republican senator Alberta Darling says this funding benefits the entire state. “This is not a Foxconn road, this is I-94 North South. And as long as I’ve been around in Wisconsin that road is the entrance from Illinois into the state of Wisconsin.”
Under the plan, $22 million will be spent to refund the construction project, now slated for completion in 2021. The rest of the funds will be spent to replace bridges across Wisconsin and for the state’s highway resurfacing projects.
