Wow! And the net stimulus effect of that will be…zero.

The I-94 project already was going to be done. All Doyle is doing is replacing some state dollars with federal dollars. Big whoop.

Using stimulus money just to avoid using state money is not the point and will not move the economy forward. The governor should be spending money on needed projects and jobs that would not be otherwise done. Light rail construction, for example, or helping households and businesses throughout the state install energy-conserving windows and doors.

Doyle announced the clunkily named Office of Recovery and Reinvestment (to be run by white guys from Madison — what a refreshing idea) to help figure out how to spend the money. Let’s hope they come up with something that will actually make a difference.

WisDOT is getting ready to launch two major Milwaukee projects — rebuilding the Zoo Interchange and expanding North-South I-94 – that will require major property acquisitions.

The department is proposing that attorney’s fees in litigated compensation cases be limited a maximum of 1/3 of the increased purchase price awarded that amount is at least $700 and 15% higher than WisDOT’s offer. When that 1/3 increase is less than $5,000, attorney’s fees would be limited to a maximum of $5,000.

The agency makes clear that it would like to keep lawyers out of the cases.

“Litigating land purchases consumes more time and resources within the Department compared to negotiating directly with landowners,” the department said in its 2009-11 budget request. “It could adversely affect the timeline of highway construction projects. Securing land can be a first step in a project and any delays can impact final completion and overall project cost.”

The department said in its budget request that property acquisition and litigation costs increased From $5 million in 2004 to $11 million in 2007, but did not say how much property was acquired in each of those years, and how much of the spending increase went to property acquisition and how much went to litigation costs.

“The average litigation attorney fee paid for five property acquisitions between September, 2002 and June, 2006 was $65,700 compared to only $39,700 for the compensation increase paid to the owner,” the department said.

WisDOT does not say why it picked those five particular litigated cases or why the department lowballed its offers by more than $40,000 each or why it did not settle with the property owners before attorney’s fees reached the levels they did.

“The intent of these modifications is to help government agencies acquire property efficiently and reduce taxpayer costs while encouraging property owners to bring to the table their legitimate concerns,” WisDOT said. “They will encourage presenting differences of opinion and other pertinent information during the negotiation stage in order to reach an agreement before going to litigation. For the Department, minimizing litigation efforts will help highway improvement projects stay on schedule and reduce costs.”

Property owners’ rights will not be affected, WisDOT said.

“Because attorney fees are a separate reimbursable cost, establishing limits on these fees will not affect the amount an owner receives for real estate acquired by the Department,” the agency said.

Obama has promised to push green jobs with any stimulus package Congress approves — Doyle’s request for highway money is not — absolutely not — a green jobs promoter. The freeway expansion project will destroy wetlands and increase flooding. It will increase air pollution. It will increase the risk of asthma and other diseases, especially for kids. It will cost $1.9 billion (although it is very strange that the price of the proposed Milwaukee-Madison rail line has increased 25% to 50% over two years and the price of the I-94 project has not budged) and not do much at all to improve the employment situation in the city. In the long run, in fact, it will further divide jobs from workers, and leave many workers with no way to get to their jobs. And it will not reduce congestion.

So how green is Obama? If he approves this boondoggle, not very green at all.

More here.

The Underwood Creek passes under I-94 and US 45 in areas designated for potential freeway expansion under the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Zoo Interchange reconstruction plan. Even if WisDOT doesn’t technically expand the freeway, it will be adding a lot of concrete to the freeway and water runoff to the Underwood Creek under various reconstruction scenarios.

WisDOT, if it follows the abysmal precedent it set in its North-South I-94 reconstruction plan, will propose developing not-as-effective-as-they-should-be wetland replacement banks desperately needed in Milwaukee County in Walworth County instead, where they will not do a bit of good for the people living near or downstream from the Underwood Creek.

Add into the mix additional tens of thousands of gallons of treated wastewater sent into the river by Waukesha as part of its plan to return treated wastewater water to Lake Michigan.

All this is sure to increase the likelihood of flooding along Underwood Creek and, as UWM’s Great Lakes Water Institute notes, “Flooding problems have occurred in the UC (Underwood Creek) subwatershed.”

Yup, even before the public comment period began, highway officials were drafting a document giving the go-ahead to the project. (What’s not clear, though, is exactly who was doing the drafting. Was it the Federal Highway Administration, the agency that eventually issues the document, called a Record of Decision? Or was it CH2M Hill, a WisDOT consultant on the $1.9 billion, unfunded expansion project?)

Anyway, it certainly looks like those folks who thought the public input process was a sham were right. The decision, indeed, already had been made, according to WisDOT’s own records. More on this topic, including a link to the draft document, here.