August 18, 2023

By Lane Kimble

HORTONVILLE, Wis. — She could’ve simply showed up, walked around, and posed for a few pictures.

Instead – Rachael Cabral-Guevara put on a safety vest and eagerly climbed into the driver’s seat of an asphalt paver on Tuesday.

The state senator from Appleton proceeded to learn about — and then try her hand at — driving the paver near Highway 15 in Outagamie County, spending more than 30 minutes of her two-hour visit on the heavy machinery.

“Everybody plays a role and it’s a finely oiled machine to get these roads out,” Cabral-Guevara said after stepping off the paver.  “I’m hoping to not take them for granted in the future.”

Cabral-Guevara’s visit was thanks to Northeast Asphalt.  NEA is a subcontractor on Michels Road and Stone’s portion of the multi-phase Highway 15 bypass, going around Hortonville.

NEA Area Manager Taylor Tauer knows any chance to be face-to-face with a state lawmaker is valuable, so he wanted to ensure Cabral-Guevara left with a better understanding of the industry and its far-reaching impact.

“See how it affects, not only the traveling public here and what the redesign of this is going to do for that, but also how it affects – job wise – people in their district,” Tauer said.

Click the video above to see the senator drive the paver and learn more about her visit.