Gov. Tony Evers and Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) Secretary-designee Craig Thompson on July 7 announced more than $160 million in transportation aid for local governments as part of the governor's 2019-21 biennial budget. Local governments will receive quarterly payments totaling $160,249,246 for General Transportation Aids (GTA), Connecting Highway Aids and Expressway Policing Aids from the WisDOT.

"As our economy continues to recover from the effects of this pandemic, it is critically important for us to invest in our state's infrastructure," Evers said. "After years of neglecting our roads and bridges, The People's Budget made historic new investments to provide the 21st-century transportation system we need in order to thrive. Funding for local roads is an important part of economic development in our state, whether it's getting to work or school or transporting goods to market — an investment in infrastructure is an investment in our state's economy for years to come."

The local assistance increase is part of more than $465 million in new funding for transportation projects included in the governor's 2019-2020 state budget, the largest dedication of new, ongoing revenue to the transportation fund in a generation. The budget included $320 million in new funding for the State Highway Rehabilitation program, $1.9 million more for local roads, and provided $75 million in one-time funding for the Multimodal Local Supplement grant program.

"General transportation aids are a significant portion of the money local communities need to maintain their roads," said Thompson. "Maintaining our local roads is a vital part of WisDOT's mission."

For calendar year 2020, local governments will receive more than $505 million in general transportation aids financial assistance to support transportation related projects. This is a 10 percent increase over calendar year 2019 allocations. In addition, $2.5 million also was allocated to towns that are limited by the 85 percent of three-year average cost limitations under the general transportation aids program.

Payments to Wisconsin's 1,850 villages, towns, and cities include:

• $156,977,397 in General Transportation Aids;
• $3,015,875 to municipalities eligible to receive Connecting Highway Aids; and
• 255,975 to Milwaukee County for Expressway Policing Aids.

General Transportation Aids help cover the costs of constructing, maintaining, and operating roads and streets under local jurisdiction. Connecting Highway Aids reimburse municipalities for maintenance and traffic control of certain state highways within municipalities.

Quarterly payments for cities, towns, and villages are sent the first Monday in January, April, July and October. County payments are made in three installments, with 25 percent of the total annual payment on the first Monday in January; 50 percent on the first Monday in July; and 25 percent on the first Monday in October.

For more information, visit wisconsindot.gov.

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