Maintenance shortfall will grow over coming decades
A long range study of the Marathon County highway system reports that the county will face a growing problem of how to maintain its current 611-mile inventory of roads over the next decades.
The study, conducted by North Central Regional Planning, says the county faces a $333,385 funding shortfall in 2023. This shortfall will grow exponentially to nearly $10 million a year by 2050.
The study assumes steady maintenance of the current county trunk highway system, no increase in lane miles, static funding from the state and no increase in the county vehicle registration fee, but a steady increase in maintenance costs over the years.
The planners assume in the study Marathon County will continue its “best practices” approach of extending asphalt life through crack filling, seal coating and resurfacing before road reconstruction. Such practices are able to extend road life up to 30 years.
The planners also assume that the county will undertake $4.3 million worth of high priority safety projects over the coming decades. The annual cost for these projects is $143,000.
Currently, the county tries to keep its highways at a PASER quality rating of seven out of 10. The study assumes the county will seek to maintain this goal.
The study concludes that the current system of maintenance and funding is not sustainable over the long-run.
“Overall, the county system cannot be maintained long-term with the level of annual funding currently allocated,” the study reads. “Costs are climbing, and more funds are needed just to maintain the status quo.”
The study recommends a number of options for county government to deal with its highway maintenance deficit:
_ Prioritize highway maintenance based on density of development and level of employment. A scoring system of 1 to 20 could be employed. Roads that “reflect a greater role in supporting the county’s economic engine” could get better maintenance or even an upgrade to all-season status.
_ Try and get local units of government to take over county highways.
_ Increase the county’s $25 registration fee on vehicles. As of 2019, the county had 117,798 vehivcles and brought in $2,944,950 in fees. Registration fees across the state range between $10 and $40.
_ Try and obtain greater state and federal funding.
On Thursday, the Marathon County Infrastructure Committee began debate on the report, but came to no conclusions on how to deal with the county’s funding gap.
Supervisor John Robinson, Wausau, said the county needed to find a better way to fund its roads. He said the county board typically cuts highway maintenance when it balances its annual budget. The problem with this approach, he said, is that it hurts the county’s six year average for highway spending and lowers the amount of general transportation aid the county receives annually from the state. The lowered aid only compounds the county’s highway funding problem, he said.
Robinson further said that both the state and county needed to find a way to fund highway maintenance when more vehicles are electric-powered.
Committee member Jeff Johnson, Wausau, said electric car taxes are already in place. “I pay an extra $220 a year on my three Priuses,” he said. “The process is already in place. Believe me, I know.”
Supervisor Richard Gumz, town of Holton, said the county needed to upgrade its highways to all season roads, especially since the sheriff’s department fails to enforce the county’s weight limit ordinance.
Supervisor Chris Dickinson, Stratford, said he did not like the priority system for fixing county highways. He said the system fails to address the needs of low volume rural roads.
Highway Department engineer Kevin Lang said the county’s goal is to keep county highways at an average of seven in the state’s 10-point PASCER rating system. He said it would prove difficult to maintain a seven rating in the future without more funds to keep up with inflation in road construction materials.
