The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation and 30 other organizations submitted a letter to members of the Wisconsin legislature encouraging their co-sponsorship of a bill to create an Agricultural Road Improvement Program at WisDOT.

The legislation would create a program to upgrade local roads and bridges critical to Wisconsin’s $100 billion-plus agriculture industry. This program is modeled after the existing Local Roads Improvement Program and would be funded with $150 million in one-time general-purpose revenues.

The Ag Road Improvement Program proposal was central to the Farm Bureau’s recent Ag Day at the Capitol. In an upcoming TDA On The Go podcast interview, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation Executive Director of Governmental Relations Jason Mugnaini said the measure was met with broad support in the Capitol and has more than 50 co-sponsors. 

The Biden Administration recently released ambitious greenhouse gas emission standards for new vehicles that could force automakers to fully electrify up to 67 percent of the new cars and light trucks by 2032 to hit the mark.

Furthermore, the EPA expects the new rules could mean EVs make up about half of all new medium-duty vehicles – trucks and vans from 8,500 pounds to 14,000 pounds – by model year 2032. The agency also put forward stronger standards for heavy-duty vehicles.

If adopted, the standards would phase in over model years 2027 through 2032.

Automakers say hitting these goals may depend on factors outside of their control, including consumer interest in EVs, the buildout of charging stations, vehicle costs, and the availability of critical minerals for lithium-ion batteries.

The new standards are expected to be challenged in court.

A work-zone crash killed six construction workers on the Baltimore Beltway last month. Crash team investigators believe a driver was attempting to change lanes, hit another car, and lost control of the vehicle, ending up in the work zone. Both cars involved in the crash were reportedly speeding.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in response to the incident, “We cannot and must not accept that roadway fatalities are an inevitable part of life in America."

In 2020, 857 people, including 117 workers, were killed in 774 fatal work zone crashes, according to the most recent national data from workzonesafetey.org. The number of fatalities is up from 586 in 2010. 

Take time this week to spread the message that everyone plays a role in work zone safety. Support National Work Zone Awareness Week:

• National kickoff event: April 18
• Go Orange Day: April 19
• Social media storm: April 20 #NWZAW #Orange4Safety
• Moment of silence: April 21 to remember the people lost in a work zone incident.

7th Annual Construction Workers' 2023 Memorial Service

April 27

4:00 p.m.

St. Patrick’s Church

404 E. Main Street, Madison

Hosted by the Wisconsin State Building Trades and Construction Business Group, this event honors individuals who lost their lives in construction accidents in Wisconsin.

Before the service, construction workers, family members, and friends are invited to participate in a Hard Hat Processional from the Monona Terrace to the Church. Line-up is at 3:30 p.m.

RSVP by calling Cheryl at 608-445-9842.

Late last month, Georgia's Republican-led legislature passed a bill levying a per-kilowatt-hour excise tax on electricity at public electric vehicle charging stations, joining a handful of states with similar fees.

The rate is 2.84 cents per kilowatt hour, a calculated gas tax equivalent. The kilowatt-hour usage fee will move with the gas tax, which is adjusted annually for the fuel efficiency of new vehicles registered in the state and inflation.

Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is expected to sign the bill, with the new charging excise tax going into effect in January 2025.

Wisconsin communities have an opportunity to improve the safety of their roads by applying for the next round of Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) federal funding grants. Wisconsin communities and municipalities collectively received more than $6 million in the first round. Listen to the latest TDA podcast to hear from one of the grant recipients, Rob Krejci, highway commissioner from St. Croix County.

The official FY2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grants website details how to apply, eligibility, and requirements.

The application deadline is Monday, July 10, 2023, at 5 p.m. (EDT). New: Applications must be submitted via the new application submission system, Valid Eval.

WisDOT support

WisDOT has grant resources to help communities apply for these highly-competitive federal discretionary grants at wisconsindot.gov/discretionarygrants.

Tips for a successful SS4A application:

• Review the NOFO and see tips on how to apply, FAQ, etc. 
• Attend a grant application webinar
• Learn about what's new in 2023

WisDOT’s primary contact for helping communities tap into Federal Discretionary Grant funds is Jessica L. ​Wagner, Federal Discretionary Fund Coordinator. She can be reached at (608) 267-6979 and jessical.wagner@dot.wi.gov.

Recently Announced Wisconsin IIJA Grants

Wisconsin recently received notification about the following Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act discretionary grant awards:

Bridge Investment Program – The City of Madison receives $15.1 million to replace six off-system bridges along the John Nolen Drive Causeway. This major artery travels across Lake Monona and into downtown Madison.

FAA Contract Tower Competitive Grant Program – The federal infrastructure law provides $20 million annually to modernize air traffic control towers at many small town and regional airports. Two Wisconsin airports received fiscal year 2023 awards.

• Central Wisconsin Airport – $608,000 to replace non-standard equipment and make high-impact infrastructure improvements and enhancements to the CWA air traffic control tower.
• Wittman Regional Airport – $200,000 to replace control tower equipment at the end of its useful life.

Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grants Program – Wisconsin received two grants to develop innovations to enhance work zone safety in the state.

• Wisconsin, Colorado, Minnesota, and Oklahoma Departments of Transportation will receive $1.8 million to advance transportation safety by developing technology for a prototype autonomous truck-mounted attenuator (ATMA) to shield maintenance and construction workers. The ATMA is a crash cushion attached to the rear of a vehicle to absorb the impact of a crash.
• Wisconsin will also receive $250,000 to extend the Work Zone Data Exchange (WZDx) to the local road network using smart work zone devices. WisDOT tracks 12,000 scheduled work zone events annually on state highways, but the WZDx data feed currently does not include work zones on the local road network.

At the 2023 TDA Fly-in to Washington, DC, there was much focus on the discretionary grants in the federal infrastructure law and the need to bring a fair share of those dollars home to Wisconsin. In the latest On The Go podcast, TDA Executive Director Debby Jackson speaks with Rob Krejci, the highway commissioner for St. Croix County, about these funding opportunities from a county's perspective.  

Rob shares how a trio of Wisconsin counties — St. Croix, Dunn, and Eau Claire — partnered and successfully worked with the USDOT to obtain a $500,000 Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) action plan grant. This plan will unlock future implementation grant opportunities. Rob hopes other counties and municipalities will benefit from what they learned during the application process.

Listen to the podcast.

Crawford County Highway Department

• TDA Annual Drive-in: Wednesday, May 24 – info and registration here.
• TDA Annual Meeting: Wednesday, Nov. 15

Deborah Schwerman has accepted the Executive Director position for the Wisconsin Asphalt Pavement Association (WAPA).

She has served as the Director of Engineering at the association for the past nine years and brings 30 years of experience from the public and private sectors across the country to her new role.

She replaces Brandon Strand, who had a ten-year tenure at WAPA. 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the organization.

The UW–Madison Interdisciplinary Professional Programs present two upcoming training programs for individuals to learn about safe flagging operations and applications for urban and rural situations and low-speed and high-speed roadways.

Work Zone Safety and Flagger Training

April 19 – 20

April 26 – 27

These courses provide flagger training in sufficient depth and length to meet WisDOT flagger certification requirements for work on state and connecting highways.

More information is available here.

MAASTO Annual Meeting

Aug. 14-16, 2023

The Wisconsin Center, Milwaukee

MAASTO's Annual Meeting is coming to Milwaukee this summer and is an excellent opportunity to network and connect with some of the best and brightest in transportation. Attendees will leave better informed and better prepared to change the future for the people they serve. 

Mid America Association of State Transportation Officials (MAASTO) works to foster the development, operation, and maintenance of an integrated and balanced transportation system that adequately serves the transportation needs of the ten member states.

Event details and registration information can be found here.

Sponsorship information can be found here.

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