A new analysis by an industry group finds hundreds of delayed transportation projects around the state. That's according to the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association . "Costs of building roads in the state have gone up 27% over the last two years, and revenues are basically flat," says WTBA's Kevin Traas. "That's why roughly 250 highway and bridge projects around the state have been delayed from their original."
A couple of twelve million dollar projects — resurfacing a section of Interstate in Dane County and a bridge replacement in Door County, have been delayed from next year to 2009, other projects delayed even longer. "It creates a domino effect of delayed projects," says Traas. "The number only gets bigger as you go into the future." Traas says the legislature will have to find a bipartisan solution, to keep the state's transportation investment moving forward. The Transportation Builders support Governor Jim Doyle's proposed tax on oil company profits, which is projected to raise $275 million for highway projects over the next two years.