Archives for 2025

Once the millions of tons of pavement are laid and striped, the orange barrels are mostly gone, and the detours largely released for the season, it’d be easy to go into hibernation mode for a bit and catch your breath.

Not if you’re Deb Schwerman.

The Wisconsin Asphalt Pavement Association executive director hit the ground–er… blacktop–running this week, holding one of the first big industry events of the winter, and urging attendees to never stop growing and improving.

“This room represents decades of knowledge and experience,” Schwerman told the crowd. “Learning from each other is one of the most valuable things we do.”

More than 350 people gathered for WAPA’s 66th Annual Conference at the Kalahari in Wisconsin Dells.

The two-day conference attracted the likes of WisDOT’s secretary and leadership team, the National Asphalt Pavement Association, technical experts, nearly two dozen vendors, and a slew of WTBA members and staff who attend winter conferences across the asphalt, concrete, and industry spectrum.

“It really is us working together to make this happen,” WisDOT DTSD Administrator Rebecca Burkel said. “We can’t do it alone. Partnerships matter. Us working together matters.”

WisDOT Secretary Kristina Boardman thanked WAPA members for their hard work in helping complete or make progress on 456 state-let projects in FY2025. That number will dip slightly to 417 in 2026, but there will be a lot of work to go around.

Early WisDOT projections show an estimated $1.61 billion let level for FY2026, which would mark a more than $200 million increase from 2025.

In addition to the ongoing I-41 expansion in the Fox Valley, the just-started I-94 East-West expansion in Milwaukee, and the newly approved I-39/90/94 reconstruction, Boardman reminded attendees the Transportation Projects Commission is preparing to meet Dec. 10.

The TPC could decide whether to begin studying a freeway expansion on I-94 in western Waukesha County.

“There’s been incredible progress on the transportation infrastructure,” Secretary Boardman said.  “That is a lot of work that we have gotten done together… but there’s some more work to do.”

During a floor session this week that lasted nearly 4 ½ hours, the state Senate’s vote on Design-Build legislation went by in an instant.

It took less than one minute to call up the bill for approval Tuesday afternoon, but the impacts of having it as a new tool at WisDOT’s disposal should last long into the future.

The Senate unanimously approved SB 461 by voice vote, meaning lawmakers simply needed to say “aye” instead of each registering a vote. The bill’s passage means it can now go to the state Assembly for final legislative approval, then on to Gov. Tony Evers to make it law.

The bill replaces the existing Design-Build pilot program–which is currently limited to six total projects–with permanent authority for WisDOT to use alternative delivery methods. It allows WisDOT to use Design-Build for up to $300 million in projects every two years.

It also includes annual cost index adjustments, simplifies rules for project selection and awards, and strengthens overall project oversight.

Efforts to create a permanent program go back at least seven years. In recent years, WTBA formed a dedicated subcommittee, and worked closely with consultant members, ACEC, and WisDOT to develop a Design-Build program that all parties can agree to.

The bill passed both Assembly and Senate transportation committees on unanimous votes in late October.

The full Assembly did not take up the bill as part of its lengthy floor session Wednesday, however it can do so during its next scheduled period in January.