Wisconsin Department of Transportation unveiled the draft for its first ever freight plan Monday, which looks to improve management of trucks, trains, airplanes and pipelines in the state.
The plan was created as part of Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act’s recommendations, WisDOT Economic Development Chief Jesse Patchak said. The act recommended that states create freight plans or renew existing ones regularly. Patchak said the plan is the first in Wisconsin to address freight transportation and its movement.
“What we are foreseeing with this plan is that it’s a great place to start planning freight transport,” Patchak said.
Patchak said the plan provides background information and suggests policies based on trends in freight transportation, which includes trucks, trains and pipelines. These policies strategize creating the most efficient transportation of goods.
The final plan will work on linking investments in transportation to the state’s economic development. It will also outline how to implement given policies and maintain them after they come into place.
Wisconsin’s freight plan is unique from other states in that it is “data driven,” Patchak said. The plan looks at different freight transportation modes and picks those that would bring the most revenue for the state with the least investment. This will be helpful for the state’s economy overall.
“We look at different modes and see where returns can be made so we can get the most bang for our buck,” Patchak said.
But Eric Sundquist, managing director of University of Wisconsin Center on Wisconsin Strategy’s State Smart Transportation Initiative, said the plan is too general and needs to be more specific in terms of how money will be spent. He said without this the plan would not really have any impact on state freight.
Sundquist said the plan also needs to address how traffic demand will be managed. Currently, trucks in Wisconsin get stuck in traffic often, which Sundquist said the plan recognizes but does not provide any solutions for.
“The plan is nothing remarkable but it is not horrible either,” Sundquist said.
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Patchak said the plan intentionally does not look at traffic management because another plan will address this issue. But this plan does look at traffic bottlenecks that could happen because of freight moving slowly. He said the plan looks to address areas where trucks and other freight transport moves slower than it should and provide solutions accordingly.
Sundquist said some ways in which freight traffic could be managed include creating lanes for trucks only. This way trucks can get through roads without being stuck with other cars. Moreover, he said the plan should look into tapping into railway lines as another solution to using trucks for freight transport.
The plan is currently available for public comment until mid-November. A final draft will be created based on these comments in December, Patchak said. The plan will be adopted early 2017.
