Sen. Howard Marklein, Sen. Devin LeMahieu, Sen. Tom Tiffany, Sen. Jerry Petrowski, Sen. Dan Feyen, Sen. Luther Olsen, Sen. Alberta Darling, Sen. Duey Stroebel and Sen. Van Wanggaard, Announce Plan for $133.6 Million for Local Roads.
MADISON— Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), Sen. Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg), Sen. Tom Tiffany (R-Minocqua), Sen. Jerry Petrowski (R-Marathon), Sen. Dan Feyen (R-Fond du Lac), Sen. Luther Olsen (R-Ripon), Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills), Sen. Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) and Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) today announced a proposed plan to allocate $133.6 Million in one-time General Purpose Revenue (GPR) grants for local road construction projects in the 2019-21 State Budget.
The plan proposes $1 million for each county ($72 million) and $1,000 for each mile in each town ($61.6 million) in Wisconsin. Funds will be distributed by the Department of Transportation (DOT) directly to counties and municipalities. All projects must meet Local Road Improvement Program (LRIP) criteria. The intent of this plan is to fund maintenance and construction projects to improve local road conditions in Wisconsin.
Funding will be available until June 30, 2023. Any unencumbered program funds will be lapsed to the general fund on June 30, 2024.
“Our plan dedicates meaningful, one-time funding to make a significant improvement in our local roads,” Sen. Marklein said. “We want to help our local leaders to fix the roads right now. We have the money, we heard our constituents and we are taking action!”
“As a former county board supervisor, I know that repairing and replacing local roads and bridges is one of the most expensive budget items for counties,” continued Sen. LeMahieu. “Due to a strong economy and smart budgeting, Wisconsin has a surplus. This plan uses part of that surplus to make a $133 million one-time investment in improving our local infrastructure.”
“First responders are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for road repair and maintenance. I’ve been hearing the same from the people I represent in Northern Wisconsin and they have been loud and clear. With Wisconsin now on firm fiscal ground, it’s time to make a substantial investment in rural Wisconsin and our roads and bridges. This proposal gets the job done,” added Senator Tiffany.
“As we continue in the budget process to try to put transportation funding on a sustainable long term path, this one time boost for the local system is an excellent use of some of the surplus that our responsible budgeting over the last few years has made available. These extra dollars will help local governments catch up on the maintenance on their roadways,” Sen. Petrowski said.
“Given the state’s prudent budgeting over the last eight years, we now have the revenue to assist local governments in much-needed maintenance and improvement projects,” Sen. Olsen said. “This is a practical approach to local road funding; money is distributed evenly across the state, helping all communities in need.”
“This is a terrific use for a portion of the one-time surplus,” Sen. Wanggaard said. Regardless of any other transportation resources in the budget, this plan provides an immediate influx of funding to repair over 61,000 miles of town roads throughout Wisconsin.”
The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) will consider the DOT portion of the state budget on Thursday, June 6, 2019.
Last Update: Jun 05, 2019 10:30 am CDT
