Wisconsin is seeking big share of federal grant program to pay for I-94 south of Milwaukee

Wisconsin officials are moving ahead with aggressive plans to upgrade I-94 south of Milwaukee despite uncertainty over a key source of federal funding for the project. 

The improvements, including the addition of an extra lane in both directions of the freeway, took on new urgency this year with Foxconn Technology Group’s plans to build a massive electronics plant in the Village of Mount Pleasant, east of the freeway.

State transportation authorities are bullish on their chances for the federal money, especially with a national spotlight on Foxconn and its plans to construct a $10 billion complex that could employ up to 13,000 workers.

FULL COVERAGE:Foxconn in Wisconsin

“We think that we have a really nice project that fits the requirements of the grant,” said Brett Wallace, director of the southeast region of the state Department of Transportation.

DOT officials made a public presentation of the freeway project Thursday at the Mount Pleasant Village Hall that featured plans to convert I-94 from three to four lanes from south of College Ave. in Milwaukee County to state Highway 142 in Kenosha County by December 2021.

The state is pinning its hopes for the expanded freeway and related work on a $246.2 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation that would pay for about half the remaining cost.

But Wisconsin is making a big ask: The state Department of Transportation is seeking one-sixth of $1.5 billion available in the federal government’s grant program, known as the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America, or INFRA.

Wallace acknowledged the state is seeking a big share of the money.

But he said the state’s application meets important criteria federal authorities are looking for. A major selling point: the economic benefits of improved traffic flow in and around the Foxconn project and the burgeoning I-94 commercial corridor that includes Amazon and Uline operations in Kenosha County.  

But if the federal funding fails to come through, or the amount is less than the state is seeking, how will the state make up the difference?

“I think that a good question is where is the rest of the money coming from?”
 asked Patrick Goss, executive director of the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association.

His group supports the Foxconn project and the upgrade to I-94 but is concerned about funding and its implications for other road projects in Wisconsin.

“We have a funding problem when it comes to paying for state roads,” he said.

“What if you don’t get all of the money you are asking for? There is a whole state that we have to take care of.”

That point was underscored in an analysis by the Legislature’s nonpartisan budget office on the effect Foxconn could have on other road projects.

The Legislative Fiscal Bureau in a report on Thursday said the state’s commitment now totals $134 million for roads near Foxconn. It concluded that this would likely mean less money for other projects.

The local upgrades that receive state funds are International Drive, Braun Road and a new road, “Wisconn Valley Way” in Mount Pleasant and a widening of county Highway KR that divides Racine and Kenosha counties.

The state DOT in its most recent schedule of contracts identified cost estimates of $69 million to $82 million for those projects. Funding is expected to include technology that will allow for the use of driverless vehicles to move workers and freight. 

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In a report to Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh), the fiscal bureau said that the work near the plant was probably not factored into state road projects in the 2017-’19 state budget.

“Therefore, the use of state highway rehabilitation funding to complete this work near the Foxconn site would likely result in the delay of other, previously planned rehabilitation projects on state highways,” the memo said.

The Wisconsin State Journal first reported about the memo Saturday.

Hintz said he asked for the analysis because of concerns by fellow Democratic lawmakers that the state’s financial commitment to Foxconn continues to grow and will siphon money for roads elsewhere.

Gov. Scott Walker and the Legislature have provided a $3 billion incentive package to Foxconn. Local officials have provided their own incentive package that amounts to $764 million.

In addition, American Transmission Co., a regional electric transmission company, has asked state regulators to spend $140 million on electricity upgrades for Foxconn that would be covered by electric customers.

Also, state officials are planning to pay for its share of the I-94 upgrades with $252 million in state bonding.

“What we are doing is taking money away from road projects across the state to pay for local roads after we have already given Foxconn a $3 billion subsidy and a lot more,” Hintz said.

The lawmaker complained that state officials have been less than transparent with their plans.

But the DOT’s Wallace said the state is not hiding anything and has held two public sessions on the road construction, worked closely with Mount Pleasant and Racine County and detailed its plans in its grant request to federal authorities.

Wallace said the agency doesn’t believe there will be delays to other projects.

That’s because costs will be spread out over four years. Also, he said the state achieved savings on roadwork that allowed it to move up $100 million to other projects and saw a large increase in funding from the federal government — $33 million to $66 million between 2017 and 2018.

In a statement, Walker’s spokesman Tom Evenson said, “We are investing $1.6 billion in this budget on highway projects statewide."

He added that Walker has “invested $3 billion more into our roads during his time in office than his predecessor did over the same amount of time.”