Gov. Evers, WisDOT Announce Over $135 Million Awarded to Local Communities to Support More Than 300 Road Improvement Projects Over the Next Four Years
Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), today announced more than $135 million in state funding has been awarded to local communities to assist in improving […]
Black News 
Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), today announced more than $135 million in state funding has been awarded to local communities to assist in improving deteriorating county highways, town roads, and city and village streets. This round of funding will help complete 302 local road improvement projects over the next four years, located in nearly all 72 counties across the state. These projects were selected to receive funding through WisDOT’s Local Roads Improvement Program (LRIP), which, thanks to Gov. Evers, received an historic over $100 million supplemental funding investment in the 2025-27 Biennial Budget.
“With over 102,000 miles of local roads in our state, this successful program serves as an important source of funding for local governments to make needed, long-lasting improvements to meet the unique needs of their communities,” said Gov. Evers. “We know that when we keep our local roads in good repair, we’re making sure the first and last mile of nearly everyone’s trip can be navigated safely and efficiently. Over the past seven years, I have been proud of the work my administration has done towards our goal to fix the darn roads, and we’re keeping up that momentum to ensure all our communities have the reliable, 21st-century infrastructure they deserve.”
Under Gov. Evers’ leadership, the state has improved more than 9,600 miles of roads and 2,400 bridges statewide since 2019. The bipartisan 2025-27 Biennial Budget, signed by Gov. Evers last July, built upon the Evers Administration’s efforts to invest in the state’s transportation infrastructure with $1.1 billion in new funding for key transportation investments, including increasing the state’s General Transportation Aids (GTA) program by three percent in each year of the biennium. Additionally, as noted above, the 2025-27 state budget provided historic funding for LRIP, including an over $100 million supplemental investment and continued support for the highly successful Agricultural Roads Improvement Program (ARIP) with another $150 million investment. Of this $150 million investment, $30 million will be targeted to improve and repair deteriorating culverts and small structures through the Local Small Structures Improvement Program.
“Local communities know these roads intimately and are in the best position to know what work needs to be done and which routes need to be updated,” said WisDOT Secretary Kristina Boardman. “This unique program is led and handled by local governments and is helping us to build a safe and efficient transportation system for generations to come.”
Projects selected for funding were based on recommendations from county, municipal, and town officials who determine which roads have the greatest need for improvement in their communities. This includes projects critical to local downtowns and projects to repair county roads between the state’s rural and urban communities.
Of the over 300 local roads and highways funded, the projects were broken into three categories: Counties (Highways), Towns (Roads), and Cities/Villages (Municipal Streets). Examples of projects being funded, as well as the full awards lists, are below.
Counties (Highways)
A total of 108 projects in nearly all 72 counties received more than $45.3 million to repair County Highways running between the state’s rural and urban communities, including, but not limited to:
- Bayfield County receiving $205,000 to repair County Highway M, which runs over the Namekagon River;
- La Crosse County receiving over $512,000 to repair County Highway Q;
- Milwaukee County is receiving over $2.6 million to repair County Highway NN; and
- Lincoln County receiving more than $246,000 to repair County Highway D.
Towns (Roads)
A total of 136 town roads received more than $55.3 million, including, but not limited to:
- The town of Freedom receiving nearly $1.5 million to repair Weyers Rd.;
- The towns of Lake Mills and Aztalan receiving over $900,000 to repair Hope Lake Rd.;
- The town of Lodi receiving nearly $100,000 to repair Fair St.; and
- The town of Turtle Lake receiving more than $290,000 to repair 9th Ave.
Cities/Villages (Municipal Streets)
A total of 58 villages and cities across the state received more than $34.8 million for projects critical to local downtowns, including, but not limited to:
- The village of Egg Harbor receiving over $1.7 million to repair Church St;
- The city of Janesville receiving more than $1.6 million to repair N. Washington St.;
- The city of New Richmond receiving over $812,000 to repair W. 2nd St.;
- The city of River Falls receiving $400,000 to help assist in repairing N. Main St.; and
- The village of Spencer receiving $502,000 to repair E. Wendell St.
Through LRIP, WisDOT works with Wisconsin’s communities by reimbursing a percentage of the total eligible project costs, with the balance funded by the local unit of government. This formula funding helps communities fund road repairs and improvements through three key disbursements: discretionary funds, supplemental funds, and entitlement funds. The over $135 million in LRIP funding awarded to over 300 projects was based on recommendations from county, municipal, and town officials who determine which roads have the greatest need for improvement in their communities. LRIP projects are awarded every two years on a biennial budget cycle. The current biennial program cycle is from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027.
County and municipal projects with $250,000 or more in total eligible costs could apply for up to 50 percent state funding under the Discretionary component (LRIP-D) and up to 90 percent under the Supplemental component (LRIP-S). For town projects, eligible costs needed to exceed $100,000. More information about the LRIP program can be found on WisDOT’s website.
ADDITIONAL INVESTMENTS IN THE 2025-27 BIENNIAL BUDGET TO SUPPORT WISCONSIN’S TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE
After years of neglect under the previous administration, Gov. Evers has made fixing Wisconsin’s roads and bridges and making sure the state’s infrastructure can meet the needs of a 21st-century workforce and economy a top priority. In each of his biennial budgets, Gov. Evers has secured historic investments in Wisconsin’s transportation infrastructure, and improving Wisconsin’s roads and bridges continued to be a priority for the governor in this budget.
In addition to securing $100 million in supplemental funding for LRIP, a $150 million investment in the successful ARIP program, and a three percent increase to the state’s GTA program each year of the biennium, the final 2025-27 Biennial Budget signed by Gov. Evers included:
- A historic increase of nearly $333 million over the biennium in the state highway rehabilitation program;
- $244.5 million to keep key projects, such as I-41 and I-39/90, on schedule;
- A 10 percent increase to paratransit aids, increasing funding by $687,600 over the biennium;
- Improving safety on Milwaukee County expressways with $38 million in expressway policing aids; and
- $50 million for the harbor assistance program, including $15 million for the Menominee Harbor Project and $20 million for the Port of Green Bay.
The 2025-27 Biennial Budget also improves ongoing transportation fund revenues by generating nearly $200 million in additional revenue to improve the sustainability of the transportation fund. In addition to robust investments in transportation infrastructure statewide, the final 2025-27 Biennial Budget invests in local communities to ensure that they are able to address the unique needs of their constituents and bolster local infrastructure, including $14 million through municipal service payments to ensure local communities have the resources they need to meet basic and unique needs alike.
