FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 24, 2026
Contact:
Rocky Moretti (202) 262-0714 (cell)
Shelley Hammond (404) 993-3744 (cell)
Click here for the full report, infographics and news conference recording.
KENOSHA AREA MOTORISTS LOSE MORE THAN $2,400 PER YEAR DRIVING ON ROADS THAT ARE ROUGH, CONGESTED & LACK SOME DESIRABLE SAFETY FEATURES – $9 BILLION STATEWIDE; LACK OF ADEQUATE FUNDING COULD DELAY PROJECTS TO RELIEVE AND IMPROVE ROADS AND BRIDGES
KENOSHA, WI – Roads and bridges that are deteriorated, congested or lack some desirable safety features in Wisconsin are costing the state’s motorists a total of $9 billion statewide annually – an average of $2,427 per driver in the Kenosha urban area – due to higher vehicle operating costs, traffic crashes and congestion-related delays. A lack of adequate investment in transportation and increasing inflation in construction costs could hamper Wisconsin’s ability to make needed improvements to its transportation network, according to a new report released today by TRIP, a Washington, DC based national transportation research nonprofit.
The TRIP report, “Wisconsin Transportation By the Numbers: Providing a Modern, Sustainable Transportation System In the Badger State,” finds that throughout Wisconsin, 42 percent of major locally and state-maintained roads are in poor or mediocre condition, six percent of locally and state-maintained bridges (20 feet or more in length) are rated poor in poor condition, increasing vehicle travel is resulting in growing traffic congestion that is choking commuting and commerce, and nearly 600 people are being killed annually in vehicle crashes in the state.
Wisconsin’s population grew to about 6 million residents in 2025, an 11 percent increase since 2000 and the state’s gross domestic product increased by 45 percent from 2000 to 2025, when adjusted for inflation. From 2000 to 2025, annual vehicle miles of travel (VMT) in Wisconsin increased by 20 percent, to approximately 69 billion miles traveled annually. And during the first six months of 2026, VMT in Wisconsin increased three percent from the first six months of 2025.
The TRIP report includes statewide and regional pavement and bridge conditions, congestion data, highway safety data, and cost breakdowns for the Eau Claire, Green Bay-Appleton-Oshkosh, Kenosha, Madison, Milwaukee, and Wausau areas.
Driving on deficient roads in the Kenosha area costs the average driver $2.427 per year in the form of extra vehicle operating costs (VOC) as a result of driving on roads in need of repair, lost time and fuel due to congestion-related delays. The costs of traffic crashes in which the lack of adequate roadway safety features, while not the primary factor, likely were a contributing factor. A breakdown of the costs per motorist in the state’s largest urban areas, along with a statewide total, is below.
The TRIP report finds that in Kenosha, 40 percent of major locally and state-maintained roads are rated in poor condition and 20 percent are rated in mediocre condition, costing the average motorist an additional $1,001 each year in extra vehicle operating costs, including accelerated vehicle depreciation, additional repair costs, and increased fuel consumption and tire wear.
From 2024 through 2029, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) anticipates an average annual funding gap of $313 million between the amount of funding available for maintenance and preservation of state-maintained pavements and the amount needed to keep them in their current condition.
In the Kenosha urban area, five percent of bridges (5 of 110) are rated in poor condition, with significant deterioration to the bridge deck, supports or other major components. Another 31 percent are rated in fair condition. Statewide, six percent of Wisconsin’s bridges are rated in poor condition and 48 percent are rated in fair condition.
Traffic congestion in the Kenosha area causes 43 annual hours of delay (more than a full time work week) for the average motorist and costs the average driver $919 annually in lost time and wasted fuel. Kenosha area drivers waste an average of 12 gallons of fuel per motorist annually due to congestion. Statewide, TRIP estimates the value of lost time and wasted fuel in Wisconsin is approximately $3 billion a year.
From 2020 to 2025, there were 3,542 traffic fatalities in Wisconsin, an average of 590 fatalities each year. From 2020 to 2024, 11 percent of those killed in traffic crashes in Wisconsin were pedestrians or bicyclists. In the Kenosha area from 2020 to 2024, there was an average of 15 traffic fatalities per year. The traffic crash rate per 100 million miles of vehicle travel in Wisconsin is below the national average, at 0.80 compared to 1.10. TRIP estimates that roadway features, while not the primary factor, were likely a contributing factor in approximately one-third of all fatal traffic crashes, resulting in $2.3 billion in economic costs in Wisconsin in 2025– an average of $507 per Kenosha area driver. The economic costs of traffic crashes include work and household productivity losses, property damage, medical costs, rehabilitation costs, legal and court costs, congestion costs and emergency services.
As improved fuel efficiency and increased use of electric and hybrid vehicles reduce revenue from Wisconsin’s motor fuel tax—a primary transportation funding source—transportation funding is no longer keeping pace with needs. At the same time, inflation has significantly increased highway construction costs. The Federal Highway Administration’s national highway construction cost index rose 48 percent from early 2022 through the end of 2025, significantly reducing the purchasing power of available transportation dollars.
The reduced buying power of Wisconsin’s state and federal transportation dollars threatens to delay many critically needed highway projects that would improve the safety, reliability and condition of Wisconsin’s most critical highways.
“As a fast-growing state and home to six million, it will be critical that Wisconsin adequately invest in its transportation network in order to provide a system that is smooth, safe and efficient to serve its booming population,” said Dave Kearby, TRIP’s executive director. “It is much more cost effective to invest in improving and maintaining the state’s transportation network than to pass along the high costs of a deficient transportation system to drivers.”