July 9, 2026

By Lane Kimble

For the final time during his eight-year tenure, Gov. Tony Evers put on a reflective vest, grabbed a shovel, and filled in some potholes across Wisconsin this month.

The governor’s annual Pothole Patrol was always a public relations stunt based around his famous “fix the damn roads” line from his 2018 campaign, but he wanted to make sure people understood where the main emphasis should be:

The men and women who build and maintain our state’s transportation system deserve our praise and respect.

“We spent a lot of time making sure that we fixed the damn roads over the last eight years and we’ve been able to do that with the help of people like you’ve seen today,” Evers said during his tour’s final stop in Superior.

“We have to make sure that people understand that the people who do this work, it’s their job for starters, but… we’ve had problems in the last few years with people getting injured by drivers that aren’t paying attention.  That’s just not Wisconsin.  We have to be careful.”

Evers said construction workers ensure our state’s economy can function and thrive, helping connect industry, agriculture, and tourism.

Gov. Evers has been a strong proponent and ally for transportation funding since taking office in 2019.

In addition to providing the money for fixing more than 9,600 miles of roads and thousands of bridges, he also relaunched the Transportation Projects Commission, signed the Agricultural Roads Improvement Program into law, and saw to completing the Zoo Interchange project after years of delays.

The governor’s most recent budget also provided hundreds of millions in new revenue, helping launch the I-94 East-West expansion in Milwaukee, continue the I-41 expansion in the Fox Valley, and begin final designs on the massive 67-mile rebuild of I-39/90/94.

Evers’ 2026 Pothole Patrol visited Onalaska, Montello, Antigo, Cedarburg, Howard, Altoona, Wisconsin Rapids, South Milwaukee, Siren, and Superior.