Lane Kimble

Walbec Group wins major NAPA award for U.P. paving job

January 28, 2026 by Lane Kimble

No good deed goes unpunished, but it can lead to some great prestige.

Payne+Dolan’s (Walbec Group) paving job on US 2 in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula was so well done, highway crews apparently said it’s a lot harder now to plow snow on the super-smooth surface.

Tuesday, P+D received the National Asphalt Pavement Association’s Sheldon G. Hayes Award for that project during NAPA’s Annual Meeting in (notably snowless) Scottsdale, AZ.

The US 2 project was along a nearly 18-mile stretch in Gogebic County, Mich., just north of the Wisconsin border. Crews paved nearly 84,000 tons of hot mix asphalt, placed major drainage and culvert improvements, and upgraded guardrail, according to Walbec Group’s LinkedIn page.

WTBA Past-President Brian Endres joined Walbec Group CEO Kurt Bechthold, Michigan Area Manager Jon Leach and other members of the company’s leadership team on stage to accept the award.

NAPA receives hundreds of Quality in Construction award applications each year, then breaks them into three categories of 50,000 tons or less, more than 50,000 tons, and airport improvements. The highest scoring 50,000+ ton winners go through even more stringent testing to judge smoothness and appearance, resulting in a singular Sheldon G. Hayes winner and several finalists.

Congratulations to the P+D team and the entire Walbec Group family on this impressive win!

Data and Deadlines: WisDOT updates contractors on safety-related compliance

January 26, 2026 by Lane Kimble

WisDOT is reminding contractors of two important compliance dates for safety-related equipment while also seeking contractor help to collect information on crashes.

Barricades

As of July 1, 2025, all Type III barricades must be Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware-2016 (MASH) compliant. Specifically, only Non-Proprietary Type III barricades can have signs mounted on them. Type III barricades are separated out on the Work Zone Traffic Control Devices APL.

Crash Attenuators

Meanwhile, any Category 3 temporary traffic control devices (specifically truck and trailer-mounted attenuators) used after Jan. 1, 2030 must be MASH-2016 compliant and be listed on WisDOT’s Approved Products List.

WisDOT encourages all contractors to begin planning attenuator updates now so they are compliant by 2030.

Seeking crash data

In an effort to improve moving work zones and cut down on crashes, WisDOT is collecting attenuator crash data.

The department is asking WTBA member contractors to fill out THIS spreadsheet (click to download) with your company’s TMA hits over the past five years. Completed spreadsheets should be returned to dotsignmarkwzmaterials@dot.wi.gov by Feb. 15, 2026.

FAQs

WisDOT recognizes contractors may have questions about MASH 2016 and its implementation. An FAQ list is available HERE.

Specific questions can be directed to WTBA’s Matt Grove or WisDOT Traffic Design Unit Supervisor Matt Rauch.

Newly projected $2.4 billion General Fund surplus could boost transportation funding

January 23, 2026 by Lane Kimble

A better than expected forecast may mean a somewhat easier time for lawmakers to close a more than $1 billion transportation funding shortfall in the next state budget.

Late last week, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau announced the state’s General Fund balance is projected to be $2.4 billion by the end of this current budget cycle.

That is $1.5 billion more than what was projected last summer.

Most of the projected increase comes from larger individual and corporate tax collections from a growing economy, which the LFB expects to continue through 2026.

The state Legislature and Gov. Tony Evers have used large one-time General Fund transfers over the past several budgets to fill Transportation Fund shortfalls, including $580 million in 2025 and $555.5 million in 2023.

Those transfers, coupled with new funding sources such as fees on electric vehicles and registrations, have allowed state and local infrastructure programs to grow and Major/Southeast Mega projects to stay on schedule.

Evers celebrated the LFB report, calling on lawmakers to provide property tax relief. Republican Joint Finance Co-Chairs Sen. Howard Marklein and Rep. Mark Born urged caution, adding “we must be careful when committing to ongoing spending using one-time money.”

A stagnant gas tax (WisDOT’s primary source for transportation construction) hasn’t increased since 2006, while other revenue streams have also flattened or declined.

WTBA remains committed to finding a long term, sustainable transportation funding solution, recognizing one-time General Fund transfers won’t always be available.

Elkhorn high school student who took Work Zone Safe despite already having license wins monthly $500 scholarship

January 16, 2026 by Lane Kimble

Jonah Wehmeier and his mom, Jenny, couldn’t avoid it on their way up to Wisconsin Dells from Elkhorn Thursday afternoon.

They drove by the multi-year Wisconsin River Bridge replacement on I-39/90/94, which slows traffic from 70 to 60 MPH for several miles as cars pass huge machinery, cranes, barrier walls, and workers.

“On the way up here, (Jonah) turns to me and says, ‘Mom, you’ve gotta slow down. Do you know how many people died (in work zones) in the last year?’ And I said, ‘You’re absolutely right.’ So, he already is impacting us,” Jenny Wehmeier explained.

Clearly Jonah’s decision to take WTBA’s Work Zone Safe Wisconsin course is already paying off.

Wehmeier was recognized as the latest WZSW scholarship winner during Thursday’s Contractor-Engineer Conference in Wisconsin Dells, receiving a $500 check.

WTBA launched Work Zone Safe in April 2024, providing a modernized online work zonesafety education platform, teaching young drivers what to expect through personalized stories from real people.

While many of the thousands of students who have taken the course are required to do so through their driver’s education classes, Jonah decided to take the course himself. He found out about it through Elkhorn Area High School’s local Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) program.

“People need to stop thinking that they’re better than needing to learning more (about driving), because there’s always more to learn,” Wehmeier told WTBA.

Wehmeier, who stands well over six feet tall, plays basketball and hopes to get a business degree from UW-Whitewater after high school. His mom is proud of the educational steps Jonah is taking now, including those that should make the roads and work zones a little safer.

“As a teacher, I really like it when kids are lifelong learners,” Jenny Wehmeier said. “They understand that it doesn’t stop. Being able to learn about different things around work zonesafety is just really important.”