Archives for 2024

Lawry named new WisDOT Deputy Secretary

October 11, 2024 by Lane Kimble

MADISON, Wis. — Decades of service and hard work in the Wisconsin Department of Transportation have paid off for Scott Lawry.

Monday afternoon, WisDOT Secretary Kristina Boardman named Lawry as the new Deputy Secretary.

Lawry has been part of the Department’s leadership team for nearly a decade, first spending four years as Bureau of Technical Services Director, then as Division of Transportation Systems Development (DTSD) Deputy Administrator since December 2021.

Lawry graduated from UW-Madison in 1990 with a civil engineering degree. He worked his way up through the Department, first as an intern and then as a staff engineer, project manager, and supervisor in the DTSD Southwest Region office.

Lawry’s priorities echo many of the ones Boardman announced when she replaced Craig Thompson last month. He wants to focus on improving safety for drivers and road builders, strengthening the workforce, responsibly managing the transportation budget, and harnessing new technology.

Lawry has two grown children and two grandsons. He enjoys spending time with his significant other (Michelle), family and friends, and cheering on the Wisconsin Badgers.

WTBA extends a hearty congratulations to Lawry, who has been a familiar face in WTBA Board Meetings and at Association events, including the annual CE Conference.

UHPC is a sight to see: Lunda, MCC handle first-ever bridge deck pouring in Wisconsin

October 10, 2024 by Lane Kimble

FOND DU LAC, Wis. — The descriptions were wide ranging.

“Very odd… like glue,” Berl Bolle said.

Brad Diener chose a different analogy.

“If you’ve got children, it’s very similar to kinetic sand,” Diener explained.

One thing’s for certain: the possibilities of Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) are vast.

“This isn’t your grandpa’s concrete,” Bolle added with a smile.

This week, Lunda Construction teamed up with MCC, Inc. to pour the first UHPC bridge deck overlay in the state’s history. WisDOT chose to use the relatively newconcrete on a two-lane bridge carrying Townline Road over I-41 in Fond du Lac.

“We definitely did rehearsals for the rehearsal, sent folks out to jobs to get familiar with the product because we want it to be successful,” Diener, who is Lunda’s Regional Manager, told WTBA.UHPC takes longer to produce than traditional concrete, but it’s much stronger. It supports up to 20,000 PSI compared to about 4,000 and reaches that strength in just 48 hours instead of 28 days.

Bolle, MCC’s Concrete Division General Manager, says the coordination between Lunda, MCC, WisDOT, and supplier Ductal has been fantastic on this project.

“When I get a chance to do something new and represent MCC, I’m all over it,” Bolle said of working with UHPC for the first time. “I think if we do everything right, it’s going to perform very well.”

As with anything new, the project is drawing a lot of attention from many different people. Check back next week for WTBA’s latest video to find out who’s paying particular interest and how Lunda is making sure to commemorate the inaugural experience.

Boosted infrastructure funding part of estimated $1.5 billion in shared revenue payments

October 9, 2024 by Lane Kimble

Communities across Wisconsin should receive a combined $281 million more to improve infrastructure and pay for essential public services.

That’s a piece of an estimated $1.5 billion overall in shared revenue for 2025, which Gov. Tony Evers announced Wednesday.

The $281,188,016 comes in the form of “supplemental county and municipal aid” and must be spent on things such as police and fire protection, public works, and transportation. A majority of the other shared revenue funding (more than $700 million) can largely be spent as communities see fit.

The shared revenue increases are the product of a bipartisan bill Evers signed into law last year. It boosted the amount the state sends to counties and municipalities by 20% based on a formula.

“I’m excited to see how the results of our historic shared revenue increases are going to help support communities and families across Wisconsin. We’re helping make sure our local communities can meet basic and unique needs alike,” Evers said in a release.

Shared revenue comes from state sales tax collections, which allows for growth in the future.

“We’ve got big things to do”: Fall Meeting offers valuable insights, perspective headed into 2025

October 4, 2024 by Lane Kimble

MADISON, Wis. — The next 12 months bring the opportunity to work on around 400 new projects and the potential for a massive 67-mile freeway expansion to get the green light.

Meanwhile, there’s a significant transportation budget hole and a general election that may shakeup the Wisconsin Legislature for the first time in 15 years.

So, is the glass half full or half empty headed into 2025?

“We’ve got big things to do in the near term and the long term. We can do it because we’ve got you working with us,” WTBA Executive Director Steve Baas told the crowd.

Half full it is.

About 150 people packed a conference room Thursday at Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison for WTBA’s annual Fall Meeting.

The all-day event featured a welcome from new WisDOT Secretary-Designee Kristina Boardman, a look at projected lets and quantities for FY2025, a “fireside chat” with Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, and a deep dive into the transportation system’s funding challenges and potential solutions.

“We need each other and I just want to say a heartfelt thank you,” Division of Transportation System Development Administrator Rebecca Burkel said.

View the 2024 WTBA Fall Meeting Photo Gallery HERE

“For this last fiscal year, we had awarded close to 350 projects… and that’s a lot. This fiscal year we’re going into an even heavier number.”

Still, WisDOT’s projected quantities show asphalt, concrete, excavation, and base course levels likely coming in below the five-year average.

Division of Transportation Investment Management Administrator Justin Shell noted those projections do not take into account locally let opportunities, such as the Local Road Improvement Program (LRIP) and the one-time $150 million Agricultural Roads Improvement Program (ARIP), both of which WisDOT is working to consolidate data into a centralized and public format in the coming years.

“I think that’s going to tell a richer story about what’s happening out there,” Shell said.

FALL MEETING SLIDE DECKS:

DTIM (Justin Shell)

DTSD (Rebecca Burkel)

Sec. Kristina Boardman

In the afternoon, Jason Stein and Tyler Byrnes from the independent Wisconsin Policy Forum shared initial findings from WPF’s deep dive into the state’s transportation system and funding.

Their report pointed to good progress being made in improving the state’s backbone highways while the quality of local roads has fallen. Supplements and/or replacements for a stagnant gas tax–which Wisconsin lawmakers stopped from indexing for inflation in 2006–are needed to help the state keep up with the vast need for road work, Stein and Byrnes said.

The report and the information-packed Fall Meeting as a whole left Baas encouraging attendees to stay thirsty and engaged, working to fill that half-full glass even higher.

“We’ve got to do a better job of reminding people about the fundamental, basic, foundational role that the roads and the infrastructure system that you guys are responsible for designing, building and maintaining have in everybody’s lives,” Baas said.

“At the end of the day: for this state, for its economy, for their daily lives–though they don’t often think of it this way–it all begins and ends with a road.”

NOTE: Fall Meeting attendees will receive PDF versions of presenter slide decks starting Friday, Oct. 4. WTBA will share the decks with those unable to attend in the coming weeks via the Weekly Update.