Archives for January 2025

One of the Biden Administration’s final acts could end up costing the transportation construction industry $8.5 billion over the next decade.

Tuesday, the Federal Highway Administration published an updated Build America Buy America policy change that rolls back the long-standing manufactured products waiver.

The agency had used its waiver authority since 1983 to exempt a wide array of items used on federal-aid highway projects — including electronics, ITS hardware, electrical equipment, signal boxes, pumps and many more – from provisions mandating that they be produced in the United States, according to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA).

With the new rule, manufactured construction products will need to be built in the United States and be made of at least 55% US-made components.

ARTBA says FHWA will phase in the new requirements, with the US-built part beginning for federal aid-supported projects on Oct. 1, 2025 and beyond.  The 55% component rule will begin for federal aid projects on Oct. 1, 2026.

ARTBA General Counsel Rich Juliano provided some important notes on the waiver rollback during Thursday’s Contractor-Engineer Conference.  You can contact Rich HEREwith questions and feedback.

Winning six out of seven statewide construction awards (and, in reality, sweeping all seven when you consider project engineer involvement, too) is no small feat.

WTBA member companies proudly accomplished that Thursday at the Contractor-Engineer Conference’s Awards Dinner, notching wins for best asphalt paving, grading, small structure, large structure, large contract, and airports.

Winning WTBA members included Northeast Asphalt, Mashuda, Sheet Piling Services, Zenith Tech, Zignego, DAAR, Mead & Hunt, Gremmer & Associates, and CORRE.

A WisDOT committee considers submissions from the five regions and votes on winners.  WTBA extends a hearty congratulations to its members for their great accomplishments!

WisDOT EXCELLENCE IN CONSTRUCTION 2024 WINNERS

ASPHALT PAVING: Northeast Asphalt (Walbec Group) – Highway 54 in Outagamie Co.

CONCRETE PAVING: Non-WTBA Member Contractor / Mike Novey, DAAR (Manager) / Ryan Franzini, Mead & Hunt (Engineer) – South Avenue in La Crosse

GRADING: Mashuda Contractors – Highway 15 in Outagamie Co.

SMALL STRUCTURE: Sheet Piling Services / Jeff Spaeth, Gremmer & Assoc., Inc. (Engineer) – West Division Street Bridge in Fond du Lac

LARGE STRUCTURE: Zenith Tech, Inc. / John Marcouiller, CORRE, Inc. (Engineer) – I-43 Hampton Ave. On-Ramp in Milwaukee

LARGE CONTRACT: Zenith Tech, Inc. / Bill Koutnik, CORRE, Inc. (Engineer) – I-43 Capitol Dr. to Hampton Ave. in Milwaukee

AIRPORT: Zignego Company, Inc. / Westwood Professional Services – Appleton International Airport

College students across Wisconsin will return to campus for second semester in about a week.  Some of the most impressive ones working toward careers in transportation construction will bring some well earned financial aid with them when they do.

WTBA celebrated its four 2025 Scholarship recipients Thursday night during the Contractor-Engineer Conference Awards Dinner.

(Click each winner’s name below to watch their short introductory videos)

The students applied for $5,000 Engineering and $3,000 Engineering Tech awards in the fall, submitting a cover letter, two letters of recommendation, and their school transcripts.  The WTBA of Tomorrow Board selected the winners.

“These four young men and women, most of you didn’t know them before tonight,” WTBA of Tomorrow Chairman Taylor Tauer told the crowd before handing out the scholarships.

“But, trust me, they are impressive enough you’ll likely know them in years to come.  They represent the best of what was a challenging process for our board, whittling down dozens of applicants into just four winners.  They are the true ‘WTBA of Tomorrow.’”

2025 WTBA OF TOMORROW SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

Alexis Fleegel – Milwaukee School of Engineering ($5,000)

Erin Jaeger – UW-Madison ($5,000)

Canyon Richardson – UW-Stout ($5,000)

Kolbe Solberg – Mid-State Technical College ($3,000)