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The vexing challenge of how to pay for Wisconsin’s roads and bridges has a simple solution: Build less and prioritize more, new state Department of Transportation Secretary Dave Ross told lawmakers March 16.

Wisconsin’s new transportation secretary vowed Feb. 21 to “change the culture” at the Department of Transportation after an audit found it underestimated highway project costs by more than $3 billion, in part by failing to account for inflation.

A recent audit that found the Wisconsin Department of Transportation underestimated highway projects by more than $3 billion raises questions about the agency's management, and of whether lawmakers must more closely oversee highway projects, state lawmakers said Feb. 21.

Ongoing major highway projects outside southeast Wisconsin, including two in Dane County, would avoid delays under Gov. Scott Walker's $6.1 billion proposal for the state's next transportation budget.

A new state audit says the Wisconsin Department of Transportation dramatically underestimated the cost of major highway projects by failing to account for inflation, with costs on 16 major projects ballooning by more than $3 billion since lawmakers approved them.

In recent years, attempts to agree on a long-term funding fix for Wisconsin roads have had as many starts and stops as a morning commute.

The federal government is telling Wisconsin officials they should hold off on plans for major new road projects and instead complete stalled construction they intend to delay further.

Three weeks after telling state legislators that Wisconsin’s transportation system would “deteriorate” if an estimated $1 billion funding shortfall wasn’t eased, Wisconsin Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb resigned on Dec. 27.

The share of state highways in poor condition would double during the next decade without an infusion of new revenue, Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb told lawmakers Dec. 6.