Evers, administration highlight critical investments in infrastructure projects statewide – WisPolitics

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today recapped his visits over the last several weeks, highlighting efforts and investments by the governor and Evers Administration, as well as the Biden-Harris Administration, to fix roads and bridges in rural areas and communities, expand transportation alternatives, and modernize Wisconsin’s infrastructure, including supporting lead service line replacement projects and building out electric vehicle charging.

“Since Day One, my administration has been working to fix the darn roads, repair our bridges, and build the 21st-century infrastructure Wisconsin needs to meet the demands of a 21st-century economy. Wisconsinites deserve a dependable and diverse transportation network, and thanks to both state budget and federal investments, we’re working to deliver on that promise,” said Gov. Evers. “It’s been great traveling across Wisconsin to be able to see firsthand the positive impacts these projects are having on local communities in every corner of our state, and I’m looking forward to continuing to build upon our work these past five years by investing in transforming our roads, bridges, and highways, supporting clean energy jobs and infrastructure like EVs, and improving the quality of life for Wisconsinites across our state.”

Gov. Evers has made fixing Wisconsin’s roads a top priority, and the Evers Administration has improved more than 7,400 miles of road and 1,780 bridges since 2019, including over 900 miles of road and over 200 bridges in 2023 alone.

AGRICULTURAL ROADS IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
In June 2023, Gov. Evers signed 2023 Wisconsin Act 13 to expand the Local Roads Improvement Program (LRIP) to include agricultural road improvement projects by creating the Agricultural Roads Improvement Program (ARIP). Weeks later, in July 2023, Gov. Evers signed the 2023-25 biennial budget, which provided $150 million for the ARIP to improve transportation infrastructure that provides access to agricultural lands or facilities. 

Last month, Gov. Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), announced nearly $50 million in state investments to help support 37 projects across 28 Wisconsin counties. The projects are aimed at helping support Wisconsin’s farmers, producers, and agricultural industries by improving rural roads and bridges that are critical to moving and transporting products, crops, and livestock, among others, efficiently and effectively across the state. This is the first round of funding awarded through ARIP. A full list of award recipients is available here.

On Wed., July 24, Gov. Evers, together with WisDOT Secretary Craig Thompson, made the announcement while visiting the town of Greenfield, which received over $1.45 million through the first round of the program to improve local roads and infrastructure along Edgewater Road and Fireworks Avenue. While there, the governor heard from local leaders and farmers about the importance of the road improvement and toured the 1.5 mile stretch of the road that will be improved using the ARIP grant. Photos of the visit are available here and here. Then, the governor and secretary visited ARIP grant recipients in the town of Elk Mound, which received over $400,000 to make improvements along 970th Street. While there, the governor visited Meyer Brothers Grain, saw the grain manufacturing process, and met with local leaders for an overview of the local road improvement project. Photos of the visit are available here and here.

On Thurs., July 25, Gov. Evers and WisDOT Assistant Deputy Secretary Joel Nilsestuen visited ARIP grant recipients in Tripoli in Lincoln County. Lincoln County received over $3.5 million through ARIP to improve local roads and infrastructure along County Highway YY. While there, the governor met with local leaders, visited the Packaging Corporation of America Tomahawk Containerboard Mill, and heard how the grant will be beneficial to the business and the local community. Photos of the visit are available here and here. Then, the governor and Assistant Deputy Secretary Nilsestuen visited ARIP grant recipients in Fredonia in Ozaukee County, which received over $1.8 million from ARIP to improve local roads and infrastructure along Belgium-Kohler Road. While there, the governor met with local leaders, toured the road, and heard how the funding will be vital to the town. Photos of the visit are available here and here. 

On Tues., July 30, Gov. Evers and Secretary Thompson visited ARIP grant recipients in the town of Morrison in Brown County. The town of Morrison received over $2 million to make improvements along Hill Road. While there, the governor met with local leaders, toured the road, and heard how the grant will benefit the local farmers. Photos of the visit are available here and here. Then, the governor and Secretary Thompson visited ARIP grant recipients in the town of Maxville in Buffalo County. The town of Maxville received over $400,000 to make improvements along North Spring Creek Road. While there, the governor met with local leaders, visited Traun Farms, and heard how the road improvement project will benefit their farm operations. Photos of the visit are available here and here.

Finally, on Wed., July 31, Gov. Evers and Assistant Deputy Secretary Nilsestuen visited ARIP grant recipients in the town of Pound, which received over $2.3 million to make improvements along North 9th Road. While there, the governor met with local leaders, toured the road, and heard how the ARIP grant will benefit the local farmers. Photos of the visit are available here and here.

Additionally, earlier this month, Gov. Evers, together with WisDOT, announced that application materials for the second project solicitation cycle of ARIP are now available. Approximately $100 million in state funding will be awarded through the second ARIP solicitation cycle for eligible infrastructure projects to support Wisconsin’s farmers, producers, and agricultural industries.

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM
Earlier this month, Gov. Evers, together with WisDOT, announced the next cycle of funding from the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) will provide more than $200 million for more than 150 local road and bridge improvement projects in counties across Wisconsin. WisDOT will administer the funding to local communities through the Surface Transportation Program (STP).

Additionally, last week, the governor announced more than $177 million in additional STP funding for 76 projects within 16 urban areas across Wisconsin. A complete county-by-county list of all the projects that are receiving funding through the STP and Local Bridge programs is available here.

WisDOT’s STP allocates federal funds to complete a variety of improvements to federal-aid-eligible roadways in rural or urban areas. The current round of STP funding is significantly greater than previous program cycles due to the increase in federal funds available through the BIL.

On Tues., Aug. 6, Gov. Evers and Secretary Thompson visited STP grant recipients in Fall Creek to make the announcement. While there, the governor received an overview of the STP project and learned how the road improvement will benefit the local residents and businesses. Photos of the visit are available here and here. Then, the governor and secretary visited STP grant recipients at Pelican Fire and Rescue in Rhinelander to learn about how the local road improvement will benefit the community and the fire station in particular. Photos of the visit are available here and here.

On Fri., Aug. 9, Gov. Evers and Secretary Thompson visited STP grant recipients in the city of Glendale. While there, the governor and assistant deputy secretary visited the Lexus of Milwaukee for an overview of the STP project and how it will positively impact the businesses in the area. Photos of the visit are available here and here.

On Mon., Aug. 12, Gov. Evers and Assistant Deputy Secretary Nilsestuen visited STP grant recipients in the city of Lake Mills. While there, the governor and assistant deputy secretary met with local leaders and heard about the road improvement project. Photos of the visit are available here and here. Then, the governor and assistant deputy secretary visited grant recipients in the village of Steuben and heard about how the road improvement project will benefit the local residents. Photos of the visit are available here and here.

On Tues., Aug. 13, Gov. Evers and Assistant Deputy Secretary Nilsestuen visited STP grant recipients in the city of Ashland. While there, the governor and secretary met at the Ashland Middle School for an overview of the STP project and heard how it will positively impact the residents in the area. Following this, they walked over to 11th Street W. and saw the road improvement project. Photos of the visit are available here and here. 

On Wed., Aug. 14, Gov. Evers and Secretary Thompson visited STP grant recipients in Schofield. While there, the governor and secretary met with local leaders at the Weston Elementary School for an overview of the STP projects in Marathon County and visited the intersection of the STP road improvement project. Photos of the visit are available here and here. Then, the governor and secretary met with local leaders at the town of Dewhurst Town Hall in Merrillan for an overview of the STP project. Following this, the governor and secretary visited the county highway that is being improved and heard how it will benefit the local community. Photos of the visit are available here and here.

Finally, on Thurs., Aug. 15, Gov. Evers, Secretary Thompson, and Assistant Deputy Secretary Nilsestuen visited STP grant recipients in De Pere. While there, the governor met local leaders at Aurora Health Center and received an overview of the STP project and how it will positively impact the local community, including the hospital. Photos of the visit are available here and here.

RECENT EFFORTS HIGHLIGHTED BY THE EVERS ADMINISTRATION TO IMPROVE STATEWIDE INFRASTRUCTURE
Gov. Evers understands that safe, reliable infrastructure is critical to the success of Wisconsin’s economy and workforce, and the Evers Administration is committed to making investments to build 21st-century infrastructure and support local communities across the state.

Electric Vehicles
In May, Gov. Evers, together with WisDOT, announced that 53 locations will become the first federally funded fast-charging electric vehicle (EV) stations in the state funded through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program under President Joe Biden’s BIL. In total, to support these 53 projects, WisDOT awarded $23.3 million of the more than $78 million the state is expected to receive over the next five years. Additional information can be found here.

Expanded Passenger Rail Service
Last month, Gov. Evers welcomed U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to Wisconsin to ride the Borealis train and highlight the state’s work with the Biden-Harris Administration to expand passenger rail in Wisconsin. The Borealis train service, which launched in May, was the first new passenger rail train in over 20 years in Wisconsin and doubles passenger rail options along a corridor that connects many businesses, universities, tourist attractions, and communities in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. In July, the governor and WisDOT celebrated preliminary figures released by Amtrak that show the new Borealis train between St. Paul and Chicago saw 18,500 riders in just its first month of service. Additional information can be found here.

Shared Revenue
From Day One, Gov. Evers has been clear that the state must do its part to ensure communities have the resources they need to meet basic and unique needs alike. Last June, Gov. Evers announced he and Republican leaders had reached a tentative compromise regarding shared revenue, which ultimately included at least a 20 percent increase in support to most municipalities statewide. Gov. Evers signed into law key portions of that bipartisan compromise on shared revenue on June 20, 2023, as 2023 Wisconsin Act 12.

Earlier this month, Gov. Evers announced the Wisconsin Department of Revenue has distributed the first round of increased payments to counties and municipalities under the historic shared revenue legislation. This distribution marks a significant milestone as it includes the new supplemental county and municipal aid established under Act 12, which is specifically allocated to support essential services such as law enforcement, fire protection, emergency medical services, emergency response communications, public works, courts, and transportation.

Community Development Block Grants
Earlier this month, Gov. Evers also announced the award of $20.7 million in grants to 22 municipalities for public improvement projects across Wisconsin. The Community Development Block Grant Public Facility (CDBG–PF) grants are administered by the Wisconsin Department of Administration for critical public infrastructure projects in low- to moderate-income communities with populations of 50,000 or fewer throughout the state. Projects include improvements, repairs, or expansions of streets, drainage systems, water and sewer systems, and other community facilities.

Lead Service Line Replacement
Earlier this month, Gov. Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), announced a new grant program that will provide municipal community public water systems with the funds to conduct community outreach efforts in support of ongoing or upcoming lead service line replacement projects.

These grant funds, provided by the Biden-Harris Administration under the BIL, will help bolster outreach efforts by encouraging collaboration between municipal systems and locally trusted messengers, such as community-based organizations, to provide consistent, clear communication and public education with residents, property owners, consumers, and community leaders throughout the project planning and implementation.

2023-25 Biennial Budget Investments
Additionally, earlier this month, Gov. Evers, together with WisDOT, announced municipalities across the state received more than $170 million in the third quarter of 2024 for General Transportation, Connecting Highway, and Expressway Policing Aids.

For calendar year 2024, local governments will receive more than $536 million in General Transportation Aids financial assistance to support transportation-related projects, a two percent increase over calendar year 2023 allocations provided by the 2023-25 biennial budget signed by Gov. Evers. The investments in the 2023-25 state budget resulted in the largest amount of funding for the program in the state’s history, and total funding for all local programs makes up almost one-third of the state transportation budget. 

Earlier this month, Gov. Evers, along with WisDOT, also announced that approximately $174 million in state funding will help local communities across the state complete more than 1,000 local road improvement projects over the next five years. 1,003 projects were selected to receive funding through WisDOT’s LRIP based on recommendations from county, municipal, and town officials who determine which roads have the greatest need for improvement in their communities.

The final 2023-25 biennial budget signed by Gov. Evers provided an increase of more than $4 million for LRIP, providing a four percent increase each year of the biennium. In addition, the final budget also included an additional $100 million for supplemental funds to be allocated for county trunk highway improvements, town road improvements, and municipal street improvements through LRIP.