The opportunity?
County Highway (CTH) R provides access to three of Pepin County’s most significant agricultural producers, with estimated annual sales of $24 million. To protect the county taxpayer investments, most county and town roads in Pepin County are subject to spring weight restrictions, lasting about six weeks, including CTH R. These weight restrictions cause hardship for farmers and agricultural producers as additional trips at reduced weights lead to additional labor, fuel, mileage, and other costs. If weight restrictions affect the timing of manure and fertilizer applications, the result can be lower crop yields and lost revenue.
What is the “fix,” and how does it benefit the local agriculture industry and the community?
A CTH R improvement project will start at Highway 85 and continue east 3.2 miles to Forster Road. The $2.3 million project will include a geotechnical analysis of the existing roadway, engineering analysis, and a plan to evaluate and replace culverts, as necessary, pulverize the existing asphalt surface, add more base, and repave to the required specifications to support year-round traffic at current and future proposed traffic levels without the need to impose future weight restrictions. As a rural community, Pepin County depends on the local agricultural industry, including forestry. This project will positively impact three major agricultural producers, many vendors and their employees serving those producers, and area residents for many years.
What makes the investment possible?
The 2023-25 budget established the $150 million Agricultural Roads Improvement Program (ARIP) to fund projects to improve rural roads, bridges, and culverts negatively impacting Wisconsin farmers, producers, and the state’s agricultural industry. In July 2024, WisDOT announced the first round of funding with Pepin County, one of 37 projects in 28 counties awarded funding. Without this funding, Pepin County could not improve CTH R to the standards necessary to support the current level of year-round traffic without spring weight restrictions. View the $ 50 million ARIP Round 1 project awards list here.
First-round ARIP applications greatly exceeded available funding, reflecting the need for improved rural roads statewide.
What’s next?
The Town of Lima applied for a related ARIP project on Forster Road, beginning at CTH R and continuing south approximately 1 mile. However, WisDOT, with recommendations from stakeholders, did not select this project in the first round of ARIP grants. $100 million is available in the second round of ARIP funding, with application materials released July 31. Applicants, like the Town of Lima, can roll over their unselected first-round applications to the second-round solicitation. WisDOT anticipates announcing the round two ARIP project awards in late December or early January.
