Wisconsin Focuses on Smaller Communities With $35M in IIJA Road Projects

Abstract

June 8, 2022 James Leggate KEYWORDS IIJA / Wisconsin / WisDOT Order Reprints No Comments Wisconsin officials have selected 40 local road improvement projects to fund with $35 million via the $2.25-billion, federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, though industry leaders say more money is needed for the state's transportation system. Of Transportation announced the list of awarded projects June 7. In a statement, Evers said it "Will provide much-needed support for communities across Wisconsin to ensure we have a safe, reliable transportation system for years to come." Officials plan to contract for the projects this fall for spring construction. The state transportation system's needs have exceeded its available resources for decades, says Steve Baas, executive director of the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association. Even with the additional funding, the impact of money for the state's transportation program will be blunted by inflation that is eroding transportation funds' buying power, he adds. "While the governor's deployment of dollars provides some relief for that gap and allows some additional investment in much-needed local projects, there is still a long way to go before our transportation fund is sufficiently capitalized to meet the needs of both our major economic corridors and our local roads," Baas said. State officials said they will also announce $25 million more for projects in areas with larger populations at a later date.