WisDOT Secretary Thompson, the current president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and the organization's executive director, Jim Tymon, will address participants of the TDA Fly-in to DC in March. 

Please take a moment to follow Secretary Thompson's career path, including his stint at TDA, and learn about his priorities for AASHTO. These core tenets are reflected in his leadership at WisDOT.

The Assembly overwhelmingly passed two bills on Feb. 21, moving the state closer to tapping into federal electric vehicle (EV) charging station funds. The Senate passed both bills in January.

One bill was passed unamended and heads to Governor Evers for his signature, while the other must return to the Senate.

The Assembly passed SB-792, allowing WisDOT to administer $78 million in National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program formula funds provided by the federal infrastructure law without amendment.

However, Republicans amended SB-791, which would exempt businesses – gas stations, convenience stores, and others – selling electricity by the kilowatt-hour through EV charging stations from regulation as a public utility. The amendment would prohibit local governments from requiring private developers to install EV charging stations as a condition of receiving a building permit.

The Senate must pass the amended bill during its final session in March.

WisDOT opened the first round of Agricultural Road Improvement Program (ARIP) project solicitations on Feb. 6.

ARIP, established as part of the 2023-2025 biennium budget, will provide $150 million over two rounds of funding. The program aims to upgrade the local road infrastructure – highways functionally classified as local roads or minor collectors and culverts – that Wisconsin’s agriculture industry relies on to access agricultural lands or facilities used to produce agricultural goods, including forest products.

ARIP Solicitation Timeline

First round - $50 million funding distribution

• ​Project solicitation opens – Feb. 6, 2024
• Application deadline – April 5, 2024, 5:00 p.m. (no late applications, limit two applications per sponsor)​​
• ​Committee review of submitted applications – Likely April/May 2024
• WisDOT Secretary award announcements – Anticipated ​July 2024

WisDOT will announce the dates for the second round – $100 million funding distribution – after completing the first solicitation, likely mid to late 2024.

Visit the ARIP page on the WisDOT website for project eligibility and selection, the ARIP application, program documents, and resources, including program contacts.

The Farm Bureau is encouraging farmers and loggers to contact their local governments and ask them to submit applications for the first round of grants. To that end, the Bureau has created a fillable form to capture the economic impact of potential ARIP projects.

Governor Tony Evers and WisDOT announced Harbor Assistance Program (HAP) grants totaling $10 million for eight harbor maintenance and improvement projects. These grants will facilitate waterborne freight and economic development.

The eight projects include:

• Perch Point LLC, Port Milwaukee - $720,000 to construct a loading dock and fixed crane to support the sale, movement, and delivery of shoreline protection materials along the Lake Michigan shoreline;
• City of Superior - $813,800 to stabilize the existing shoreline and remove a failing dock wall on General Mills property located on the St. Louis River;
• Hanke Terminals, La Crosse - $2.2 million to rebuild a failing dock wall used to export agricultural commodities and import bulk goods;
• Briess Malt Inc., Manitowoc - $1 million to dredge the bed of the Manitowoc River and refurbish a ship unloading system used by Briess Malt to import and export agricultural commodities;
• Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay - $382,400 to dredge the bed of Sturgeon Bay to maintain navigation for vessels using the Fincantieri facility;
• City of Superior - $3 million to rebuild a dock wall along property owned by Elkhorn Industries and dredge the bed of Superior Bay to establish an intermodal facility;
• City of Manitowoc - $562,000 to dredge the bed of the Manitowoc River to restore navigation depth to support shipping at the St. Mary’s Cement facility; and 
• City Centre LLC, Manitowoc - $1.34 million to construct a load-out pad for assembling, testing, and shipping new cranes designed by Konecranes Inc. 

Wisconsin’s Harbor Assistance Program, created in 1979, helps harbor communities maintain and improve waterborne commerce. 

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals struck down the Village of Pewaukee transportation utility fee (TUF), intended to provide a sustainable source of funds for the maintenance, construction, and reconstruction of its transportation infrastructure.

The Court concluded “the TUF is an impermissible tax under our supreme court’s decision in Wisconsin Property Taxpayers, Inc. v. Town of Buchanan.”

Pewaukee officials approved a transportation utility in February 2021 to collect fees comprised of a base fee and a usage fee based on estimated trips.

The village board has voted to appeal the ruling. Supporters of the Village of Pewaukee’s TUF contend the Court of Appeals didn’t adequately consider the differences between the Village’s and the Town of Buchanan’s TUFs.

"The decision clearly merits appeal, and the Circuit Court decision supporting the Village’s TUF should be restored," said Jerry Deschane, executive director of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities. "Municipal governments have long had the authority to establish utilities, and those utilities have the authority to assess fees. We are very optimistic that the Village’s work will be upheld," he concluded.

On Feb. 8, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation approved S.1939, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2023. The measure would authorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and associated programs through fiscal year 2028.

The current extension of the FAA’s statutory authorities expires on March 8. A nine-week extension is in the works. Yesterday, the House passed H.R.7454, the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2024, a bill extending the Airport & Airway Trust Fund (AATF) taxes and spending authority through May 10, 2024.

This measure marks the third extension since the last authorization expired on Sept. 30, 2023.

The House passed its five-year FAA reauthorization bill (H.R. 3935) last July with a bipartisan vote of 351 to 69.

Wisconsin recently received notification about the following federal discretionary grant awards:

Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects program (INFRA): WisDOT received an $8 million federal grant to reconstruct a safety rest area near Sparta. The project will significantly expand truck parking from 16 to approximately 70 spots, add a staging area for oversized-overweight vehicles, and leverage technology to proactively communicate open truck parking spots to commercial drivers moving along I-90 through Sparta. In a recent article about the project, Neal Kedzie, president of the Wisconsin Motor Carriers Association, characterized “safe, well-lit, reliable parking” as a critical need.

The project also includes the reconstruction and modernization of one of the state’s oldest safety rest areas, serving more than 410 vehicles daily.

FAA Airport Terminal Program: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded the Appleton International Airport $3.42 million for a terminal modernization project that adds 60,000 square feet and includes a 4‐gate concourse expansion, increasing the number of gates to 10. This award partially funds the final phase of the concourse expansion project, including passenger boarding bridges, a solar and sustainability program, and mechanical equipment.

See the WisDOT interactive map of federal discretionary grants here.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, Americans drove more miles in 2023 than ever, 3.263 trillion miles. This amount is 67.5 billion more miles than in 2022 and almost 2 billion more than in 2019, the previous record year.

The end or modification of work-from-home policies established during the COVID pandemic and lower gas prices fueled the increase in miles driven in 2023. 

TDA Podcasts: New Maps and Passenger Rail

TDA recently released two podcasts covering diverse topics.

Maps

Brian Fraley, president of and owner of Edge Messaging, again joins TDA Executive Director Debby Jackson on the On The Go podcast. In this episode, Debby and Brian cover the timely topic of Wisconsin's new state legislative maps.

The two chat about what we know and what we need to learn about the new maps and the opportunities for grassroots groups like TDA.

Rail

Scott Rogers, the vice president of governmental affairs at the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce, joins TDA Executive Director Debby Jackson on the podcast to talk about passenger rail.

Scott and Debby discuss the economic benefits of passenger rail for the region and the recently announced federal grants to study passenger rail in the state. Jackson also takes the opportunity to get tips for long-distance train trips from Rogers, a longtime train traveler.

Listen to the podcasts here.

Thanks again, 2023 sponsors!

The support of our sponsors helps TDA provide valuable, informative programming. If you want to be a 2024 organizational or event sponsor, click here for more information.

• TDA Fly-in to DC: March 20-21
• TDA Annual Meeting: Oct. 16 at the Marriott Madison West

The American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation are partnering for the 15th consecutive year to present the 2024 Transportation Improvement Conference.

This year's conference will be held March 5-6 at the Glacier Canyon Lodge in the Wisconsin Dells. 

Click here for more information and to register.

The Construction Business Group Annual Conference is April 10 – 11, 2024, at The Madison Club. 

CBG was established in 1992 to enhance business opportunities and a quality of life by ensuring fairness, equity, and standards of excellence in the construction industry of Wisconsin.

Click here to see this year's agenda and here to register.

If you would like TDA to consider including your organization's update or event in an upcoming newsletter, please forward information to Luke Pearson at luke.pearson@tdawisconsin.org.