Gov. Evers, WisDOT Announce Over $2.3 Million to Support Maritime Infrastructure in Green Bay, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Menasha, and Racine

“We’ve been working hard to build the 21st-century infrastructure needed to support a 21st-century economy, and here in Wisconsin, that includes our maritime trade,” said Gov. Evers. “Our coastal infrastructure and bridges play a critical role in keeping our economy and our state strong, so as a state, we are proud to support the communities that ensure our ports run smoothly and efficiently, ensuring Wisconsin products get from point A to B safely.”

Wisconsin’s lift bridges, which raise a section of roadway vertically to allow the passage of taller ships into the state’s city ports, are essential to the state’s maritime economy. The LBA program, which reimburses cities for the costs accrued from maintaining and operating lift bridges that provide connections to the state trunk highway system, is administered by WisDOT and is funded by the state’s Transportation Fund.

“Wisconsin’s lift bridges are crucial to our state’s economy and ensure that maritime activities and businesses have access to our port cities,” said WisDOT Secretary Kristina Boardman. “These lift bridge payments help to open global markets to our manufacturers, agricultural producers, and many other businesses in the state of Wisconsin.”

The 2025-27 Biennial Budget, signed by Gov. Evers last year, secured an additional $265,900 annually for the LBA program to support local infrastructure. In addition, the budget also allows the existing lift bridge aids appropriation to also be used for the city of Menasha lift bridge, rather than just for lift bridges on connecting highways, to assist with the costs of maintaining and operating the city’s Racine St. lift bridge.

Thanks to the funding secured in the bipartisan budget, and as noted above, in this latest round of funding, the city of Menasha will receive $116,122.55 for their Racine St. lift bridge. In addition, nine lift bridges received funding from the LBA program, which will cover the maintenance expenses submitted by these municipalities, including:

PREVIOUS EFFORTS BY THE EVERS ADMINISTRATION 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. Under Gov. Evers’ leadership, the state has improved more than 9,600 miles of roads and 2,400 bridges statewide since 2019. Wisconsinites could drive from Wausau, Wisconsin, to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and back three times with miles to spare on the miles of roads fixed.

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, the 2025-27 state budget provided historic funding for the Local Roads Improvement Program (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.

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:

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.