Tall Grass on WISDOT mantained roads

[peterj920]

WISDOT is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on extensive landscaping projects on the I-41 project, yet neglects to cut the grass along state maintained roadways.  I know years ago when Doyle was governor WISDOT decided to cut the grass only once a year and occasionally at intersections to improve sight.  At the time, WISDOT said it would save $2 million a year.  With Walker as governor, that policy appears to be left alone.  The tall grass is a safety hazard at intersections by declining sight, and I nearly hit a raccoon because it was invisible in the tall grass alongside the road and appeared out of nowhere.  If the grass was cut, I would have seen it more in advance.  WISDOT could probably build one less roundabout a year and use the money to cut the unsightly tall grass along Wisconsin highways. 

[SSOWorld]

Judging from observations near me, it may have been delegated to local municipalities (county?)

[froggie]

Someone in the know (i.e. SSOWorld or mgk920) correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't basic state highway maintenance delegated to the counties to begin with?  Or is that just snowplowing?

If so, then I think Peter is barking up the wrong tree...

[peterj920]

The counties get reimbursed by the state for grass cutting, snow plowing, and other maintenance.  I'll drive on town and county roads where the grass is cut but the state highways aren't.  Read the story below.

http://m.lacrossetribune.com/news/local/lost-in-the-weeds-local-officials-frustrated-by-state-highway/article_a486380a-d312-11e2-85c4-0019bb2963f4.html

[captkirk_4]

Allowing the medians to go native prairie attracts all the native prairie wildlife which becomes a road hazard when some groundhog or Wild Turkey appears in the middle of the road in front of oncoming traffic. Much worse in Canada where Moose frequently cause fatal accidents, their 1000lb bodies go straight through the windshield and crush all the occupants of the vehicle. Only solution is some unsightly Mad Max / B.A. Baracus style welding job of iron bars across the front of your vehicle.

[SEWIGuy]

The counties get reimbursed by the state for grass cutting, snow plowing, and other maintenance.  I'll drive on town and county roads where the grass is cut but the state highways aren't.  Read the story below.

http://m.lacrossetribune.com/news/local/lost-in-the-weeds-local-officials-frustrated-by-state-highway/article_a486380a-d312-11e2-85c4-0019bb2963f4.html

I have been noticing this same thing for a couple of years around where I live (Jefferson County) but it does seem particularly bad this year.

This quote from the above article is downright embarrassing.  "Others questioned if sales tax revenue, private donations, even jail inmates could be tapped for additional roadside maintenance."

We are at the point where we would have to solicit private donations to cut the grass on state maintained highways?  Sometimes I think we have gotten to the point where we have focused too much on what something costs without having any concept of what something is worth.

[SSOWorld]

Someone in the know (i.e. SSOWorld or mgk920) correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't basic state highway maintenance delegated to the counties to begin with?  Or is that just snowplowing?

If so, then I think Peter is barking up the wrong tree...

I can only speak for Grant County at the moment - I saw equipment chopping the field on US-151 (Now part of my commute) with no advanced warning signs saying "Mowing [operations] ahead".  I didn't go into Lafayette County (a stone's throw) yet to see if 151 was groomed there yet.  These counties are sparsely populated outside Platteville.

[GeekJedi]

I saw various crews out this week all the way from Delafield to La Crosse along I-90 and I-94. WI-83 from WI-59 to Mukwonago was recently done as well.

As for your ongoing complaint about landscaping - different budgets. One isn't getting done at the expense of the other.

[NJRoadfan]

Your state isn't alone in the lack of lawn cutting. Besides NJ, I have observed tall grass on state highways in Maryland, parts of Virginia, and North Carolina.

[peterj920]

I saw various crews out this week all the way from Delafield to La Crosse along I-90 and I-94. WI-83 from WI-59 to Mukwonago was recently done as well.

As for your ongoing complaint about landscaping - different budgets. One isn't getting done at the expense of the other.

Why can't money be moved from one project to another?  Projects have been changed by adding or subtracting funds.  Why can't some money be diverted from some low priority projects to general maintenance? 

[GeekJedi]

Most budgets (especially government budgets) are set up in a way that use segregated accounts. You can shuffle money from one thing to another in a certain category, but you generally can't move money from one category to another. You either have to spend it or lose it.

For example, you can't take money earmarked for construction and move it to maintenance, however in some cases money can be moved from one construction project to another, or from one maintenance project to another.

[Scott5114]

OK has been not cutting their grass either, although they claim it's to benefit migrating monarch butterflies.

[peterj920]

This is Wis 57 south of Greenleaf.  I took the picture by an oncoming no passing zone sign to show how tall the grass has gotten. 

[Brandon]

This is Wis 57 south of Greenleaf.  I took the picture by an oncoming no passing zone sign to show how tall the grass has gotten. 

That's a hell of a lot better than Illinois.

[The Ghostbuster]

Maybe they should ship some horses and cattle in to eat the tall grass. (joke)

[kalvado]

Maybe they should ship some horses and cattle in to eat the tall grass. (joke)

Joke or not... THey used goats to clean up some hard to reach vegetation around water reservoir over here. Project went quite smoothly.

[kphoger]

meh.  I've seen taller grass than that in plenty of locations over the years.

[mgk920]

I remember a while ago (mid-late 1980s?) when WisDOT announced that they would be cutting back on highway mowing to twice per year.  Prior to then it was done every couple of weeks.

Mike

[JREwing78]

Michigan is definitely no better in that regard. It's not a problem exclusive to Wisconsin.

[tchafe1978]

Someone in the know (i.e. SSOWorld or mgk920) correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't basic state highway maintenance delegated to the counties to begin with?  Or is that just snowplowing?

If so, then I think Peter is barking up the wrong tree...

I can only speak for Grant County at the moment - I saw equipment chopping the field on US-151 (Now part of my commute) with no advanced warning signs saying "Mowing [operations] ahead".  I didn't go into Lafayette County (a stone's throw) yet to see if 151 was groomed there yet.  These counties are sparsely populated outside Platteville.

Grant County and Lafayette county are both similar in how the grass has been mowed along 151. They've both taken basically one pass along each outside shoulder with the mower. At the moment, however, Lafayette County has mowed the entire median whereas Grant County has only made one pass along the inside shoulder, as of yesterday. Grant County could be working on it today, however. The mowing is still done less frequently than in years past, not just along state highways but along county highways as well.

[GeekJedi]

My opinion is that it seems to make sense to not be as aggressive with mowing. There's significant savings, versus the return on having the grass consistently mowed. It's also more environmentally friendly.

I guess as far as WisDOT issues go, this falls pretty low on my "things I care about" meter - though I do see the other side to it.

[tchafe1978]

Mowing two or three times a year is probably enough for most roads. Often enough for tall grass to not become a safety issue, especially at intersections.