Details about this story

• Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
• Date: March 29, 2009
• URL: Read the story
• Bylines: Tom Held , Ben Poston
• Topics: Safety , Transportation
• Data Types: Federal Data
• Description/Excerpt: A vast majority of the Wisconsin bridges awarded construction money in the first wave of federal stimulus funding carry fewer than 1,000 vehicles a day, a Journal Sentinel analysis of federal bridge inspections shows. And many bridges carry significantly fewer than that. The 37 bridges average 568 vehicles a day. These mostly small, rural bridges will receive $15.8 million, while high priority larger bridges with daily traffic counts approaching 60,000 vehicles were ineligible for funding in the first round. The cash flowed to the chosen projects based largely on timing. The 37 bridges that got funding have met all the requirements needed to start the flow of cash from federal coffers.