Lane Kimble

Major work resuming on I-41 expansion throughout Fox Valley

March 20, 2025 by Lane Kimble

WTBA member companies will help deliver some big progress in 2025 for the major I-41 expansion in the Fox Valley.

Starting Monday, March 24 the Vandenbroek Road overpass will close for demolition and reconstruction. Crews will move the bridge piers and replace the bridge with a wider, safer road for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers.

WisDOT is also planning several nighttime full freeway closures to safely bring down the bridge, but those dates have not been announced yet.

Later this month, mainline I-41 work is slated to resume.

Crews will be working along a three-mile stretch near Kaukauna, between County Highway JJ and Miners Road.

Finally, the Ballard Road and County J interchanges are scheduled for closure in April and May following the NFL Draft in Green Bay.

Vinton Construction and Michels Road & Stone, both WTBA members, have won the majority of prime contracts on the expansion thus far.

WisDOT and WTBA urges all drivers to slow down, pay attention, and be cautious driving through work zones.

Work to expand and modernize the 23-mile stretch of I-41 between Appleton and De Pere began in earnest in 2024. The nearly $1.2 billion project should wrap up in 2029.

DMV now offering teens option to take knowledge test online

March 20, 2025 by Lane Kimble

Teenagers working toward their driver’s license can now accomplish a mandatory step anywhere, anytime.

The Division of Motor Vehicles announced Friday it launched an online option for students to take their knowledge test.

The test is required after taking driver’s education, but before a student can receive their learner’s permit and get behind the wheel. It surveys a student’s understanding of basic rules of the road and how to handle various situations such as yielding to pedestrians, hydroplaning, and passing a bicyclist.

The online test costs $10, which goes to a third-party vendor that runs similar testing for 11 other states.

Taking the knowledge test in-person at a DMV is still free.

WTBA also encourages young drivers to take the free online Work Zone Safe Wisconsincourse as part of their driver’s education program. More than 2,000 people have successfully completed the course since its launch in April 2024.

Each month, WTBA awards a student who completed the course with a $500 scholarship check, sponsored by Wisconsin County Highway Association.

Blackout to generate green? Senator reintroduces special Wisc. license plates

March 19, 2025 by Lane Kimble

New license plates in Wisconsin wouldn’t just catch your eye, they could capture millions of dollars for the Transportation Fund.

The so-called “blackout plates” would feature an all-black background with white letters.

The bill, introduced by State Sen. Cory Tomczyk (R-Mosinee), would offer the blackout plates as a special registration, costing owners a one-time $15 issuance fee and $25 annually to renew.

A Legislative Fiscal Bureau report released Monday estimates the plates would generate about $8.6 million in their first year while costing WisDOT about $3.4 million to create them.

The plates have soared in popularity in places such as Iowa and Minnesota. Wisconsin’s LFB report predicts the new plates would generate more than $14 million for the Transportation Fund by their third year, based on Iowa drivers’ purchases.

Republicans in Wisconsin introduced a similar bill last session but it never made it out of committee in the Assembly or Senate. That bill’s co-authors (Rep. Paul Melotik and Rep. Dan Knodl) signed on as co-sponsors to Tomcyzk’s bill this year.

JFC announces 4 public budget listening sessions

March 19, 2025 by Lane Kimble

Next month brings one of the best chances to ensure lawmakers who are crafting the next state budget hear your voice.

The Wisconsin Joint Committee on Finance (JFC) announced four all-day budget listening sessions across the state for April.

The Committee will start in Kaukauna on Wednesday, April 2, heads to West Allis on April 4, Hayward on April 28 and finishes in Wausau on April 29. All four sessions run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Attendees can register to share brief comments on any budget matter they please, including Transportation.

The governor’s budget proposal includes more than $400 million in new Transportation Fund revenue and would provide double-digit percentage increases to the State Highway, Majors, and Southeast Mega programs.

The 16-member JFC generally holds the listening sessions every other April, public hearings with each state department leader, and then crafts its own version of the budget to send to the Legislature. The budget is due to the governor by June 30.

Those who cannot make it to April’s in-person sessions can submit comments online ahead of time.

All four sessions will be live streamed on WisEye.org.