The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is providing $75 million through its Multimodal Local Supplement grant program to provide municipal and tribal governments with the “flexibility and funding” for addressing a range of local-level transportation needs.
“The MLS program gives counties, towns, villages, and cities the opportunity to apply to fund multimodal projects that will provide significant economic impacts for their community,” noted Governor Tony Evers (D) in a statement, mirroring aspects of the Local Roads Improvement Program but available for an “expanded range” of project improvement types – from roads and bridges to alternative transportation efforts such as bike lanes and the like.
The Wisconsin DOT said the deadline for grant applications is December 6 and a six-year project completion will be required for approved projects. The program will reimburse local governments up to 90 percent of total eligible project costs, with the local sponsor providing the balance, the agency said.
The minimum project cost for counties, cities, and villages applying for grants through this program is $250,000, while the minimum project cost for towns is $50,000, the Wisconsin DOT noted.
One project already approved via this grant program is an effort to repair the Kaukauna lift bridge, which will open access to the nearly 40-mile-long Fox River Lock System to motorboats, canoes, kayaks and commercial boats. The Wisconsin DOT said that waterway system links Lake Winnebago to the Fox River Valley, through the Bay of Green Bay to the ports of the Great Lakes.
The U.S. Coast Guard issued an order for the lift bridge to be operational by May 2021, so the MLS program will provide 80 percent of the $2.2 million needed to make the repairs, the agency said – adding that other MLS project awards will be announced in early 2020.