Wisconsin one of few states using bridge repair money as intended

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Wisconsin is apparently one of just a few states to use federal stimulus bridge repair money for the purpose it was intended.

Ninety-four percent of the Wisconsin bridge funding is being used to fix structures found to be deficient or obsolete.

But nationally, the Associated Press found that almost half the bridges being fixed by stimulus funds had passed previous inspections and they would never otherwise qualify for federal money.

The AP says tens of thousands of unsafe bridges won’t be fixed.

Some of the money is being used on easier projects instead, like paving roads.

President Obama cited the nation’s crumbling bridges as one of the big reasons for the stimulus package.

But now, the program’s chief executive Ed Deseve said the other work was OK as long as it’s shovel-ready. He said the purpose of the stimulus was to provide an immediate jolt to the economy.

Tags: bridge repair, federal stimulus, wisconsin