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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.

Wisconsin’s Legislature doesn’t meet again until January, but some of its key transportation players as well as outside stakeholders are going public now with their strong opposition to Gov. Scott Walker’s announced 2017-2019 budget for the Department of Transportation. They don’t think Walker’s proposal will come close to addressing a funding shortfall, which has soared to $939 million.

Highway crews in Wisconsin on June 16 began installing 70 mph speed limit signs along some of the state’s interstates, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation announced.