The opportunity or challenge? Road weight restrictions, alternative routes, running partial loads, and crumbling infrastructure in rural Wisconsin have resulted in serious infrastructure challenges restricting Wisconsin’s $107 billion per year agriculture industry. Improvements to local roads and the elimination of posted routes will benefit all rural road users.

How the “fix” benefits Ag and rural Wisconsin? The 2023-25 budget established the new Agricultural Road Improvement Program (ARIP) with $150 million in one-time segregated funding to improve roadways classified as local roads or minor collectors and culverts that provide access to agricultural lands or facilities used to produce agricultural goods, including forest products. One hundred sixty first-round ARIP applications from across the state amounted to $260 million in total proposed project costs. The estimated state cost share of $234 million greatly exceeds the $50 million available in the first tranche and the entire amount authorized in the current budget.

What made addressing the issue possible? Wisconsin had a historic budget surplus of about $7 billion going into the 2023-25 budget cycle. This cushion allowed for a sizeable one-time infusion of general funds into the Transportation Fund. Without these funds, existing transportation revenue (state and local) is insufficient to address these rural last-mile transportation challenges.

What’s next? In June, a committee of local government and industry representatives will review the applications. WisDOT anticipates the first awards will be announced in early July, with the second-round solicitation materials released in late July and the second-round awards by late this year.