TDA: Five Days to "Black Tuesday"
The Transportation Development Association continues its countdown to "Black Tuesday," the day $260 million in summer road projects are supposed to be awarded.
"The stakes are tremendously high and so are the emotions," said TDA executive director Craig Thompson in the press release. "The same passion that has driven individuals into steadfast positions now must drive them to arrive at a solution before it is too late. There are many different ways to solve this problem without raiding the transportation fund."
Gov. Doyle has said road "lets" may be jeopardized because negotiations to solve the state's projected $525 million budget deficit haven't been fruitful.
See a list of the projects here.
Doyle spokesman Lee Sensenbrenner said the Department of Transportation is evaluating which projects may be delayed. Dollars that are withheld from the road projects would be used to shore up the budget gap, he said.
Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, and Assembly Minority Leader Jim Kreuser are meeting today to try to iron out a compromise. Kreuser said earlier this week that he would like to see some level of transportation fund bonding, as Gov. Doyle proposed, in the final package. Decker and Huebsch have been resistant to the idea.
"This budget is clearly going to need both parties in order to pass. That's not a bad thing," said Thompson in his statement.
Sensenbrenner said he isn't sure what would avoid a scaling back of the project lets short of passage of a repair bill.
"The reason why these projects would be effected is it's basically the only choice," he said. "If some deal arrives it could affect (the project letting)."
Labels: Budget_Repair_Bill, Transportation
