The transportation economic assistance (tea) program was createdin wisconsin to help communities and businesses pay for road, rail, harbor, or airport improvements needed for economic development. The objectives of the program were to attract employers and to create more jobs in wisconsin. Using an appropriation of $9 million, the state has funded up to 50% of the cost of 18 transportation improvements. These projects were expected to create over 2, 800 jobs directly and an estimated 2, 800 jobs indirectly. The annual increase in wagespaid because of those jobs over the next 10 years amounts to $106 million. The present value of the state sales and income taxes paid over 10 years totals $58 million. Tea applications are evaluated against a dozen criteria to determine the project eligibility. These criteria include transportation osts and benefits, number of jobs, value of increased wages, ratio of cost to the number of jobs, local funding, compatibility with other transportation in the area, tax benefits to the state, and financial soundness of the business. The economic impacts of tea improvements involve both reductions in transportation cost because of the transportation improvement and changes inthe state's economy caused by the economic development project. Transportation costs and benefits are measured, in this case, by the highway investment analysis package. If the benefits, such as reduced travel time, traffic accidents, and operating cost, exceed the improvement and maintenance costs, the project is considered a good investment from a transportation standpoint. The other economic development benefits are calculated using a model of the wisconsin economy. This model, developed by regional economic development models, inc., Measures changes due to economic development projects. It measures net increases in employment, employee wages, sales taxes, and income taxes. If a project meets the eligibility criteria, it is ranked competitively with other projects and funded according to its rank. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1274, Transportation and economic development 1990: proceedings of a conference, williamsburg, virginia, november 5-8, 1989.
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