3/2/16, WQOW-TV Eau Claire (video) – Wisconsin is climbing the list for having the third worst road conditions in the nation, and that trickles down to Eau Claire County where its roads are also in need of repair.
Eau Claire County Highway Commissioner Jon Johnson said while road conditions have been improving the last two years, not enough state funding is coming through to make all the repairs. Of its 420 miles of county roads, Johnson said 38 miles of them are in poor or failing condition. He said the Eau Claire County Board invests $6.5 million annually into the county’s construction improvement program, but that funding can only pay for repairing 8 miles in the county each year.
“Overall statewide, our highway conditions were graded at a D by the Taxpayer Alliance for 2015,” Johnson explained. “So, we really need to focus on long-term funding, how are we going to get there?…But we’re still at 42 percent of our roadways are in poor condition. We really need to be focused on that and keep working to get those improved.”
Johnson said most of the repairs that are needed are those on short sections of roads where there is lower traffic, like in the rural parts of Eau Claire County.