Republican Senators Announce Local Road Funding Plan

A group of
Republican State Senators, including Senator Dan Feyen of Fond du Lac and
Senator Luther Olsen of Ripon announced a proposal Wednesday that would
allocate $133.6 million in one-time General Purpose Revenue Grants for local
road construction projects in the state’s next two-year budget. The plan
proposes $1 million for each county for a total of $72 million and $1,000 for
each mile in each town in Wisconsin – a total of $61.6 million. The money will
be distributed by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation directly to
counties and municipalities. Under the plan, funding would be available until
June 30th of 2023, with any funding leftover would be rolled back
into the general fund in June of 2024.


“Our local
roads are deteriorating before our eyes,” Senator Feyen said. “This is a
crucial investment that will help boost funding for our roads in areas that
need these resources the most – our local counties and townships.”


“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,”
Senator Olsen said. “This is a practical approach to local road funding, money
is distributed evenly across the state, helping all communities in need.”


The Legislature’s
Joint Finance Committee will consider the Department of Transportation’s
portion of the state budget on Thursday.