November 1, 2025
By Lane Kimble
MADISON — The state of Wisconsin may soon add another tool in the overall construction industry toolbox thanks to years of work and collaboration between WTBA, WisDOT, and partners.
A bill that would launch a formal and ongoing Design Build program received public hearings before the Senate and Assembly transportation committees this week.
“In some unique situations, it offers the state of Wisconsin the opportunity to do these projects, I think, more efficiently and certainly reduce the (construction) timeframe,” bill co-author Sen. Howard Marklein said.
The bill, labeled SB461, makes the following key moves to bolster the use of Design Build:
- Replaces the existing Design Build pilot program (which is limited to six total projects) with permanent authority for WisDOT to use alternative delivery methods
- Raises the Design Build program cap from $250 million for six total projects to $300 million per state budget (two years) with annual cost index adjustments
- Simplifies rules by requiring WisDOT follow federal procedures for solicitation, evaluation, and selection
- Strengthens project oversight
“In general, this is how government should work: applying lessons learned from an incremental pilot to expand a program according to a robust collaboration between, in this case, the department and stakeholders,” Elise Nelson, WTBA’s Director of Government Affairs, testified before the Senate committee.
General Counsel Jodi Jensen joined Nelson in demonstrating support of the current bill.
WTBA has worked with a subcommittee of association members, the American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin (ACEC), and WisDOT to develop legislative language that all parties can support.
One of the largest and most recently completed Design Build pilot projects serves as a strong example of the program working as intended. The Highway 130 Lone Rock Bridge project, which many WTBA members served as consultants and subcontractors on, finished on-budget and well before a traditional design-bid-build project may have.
“The Lone Rock Bridge across the Wisconsin River I thought worked incredibly well. That’s based on feedback from DOT, from the contractor, from the subs, the employees, the community,” Sen. Marklein said. “We were able to complete that project on budget and we reduced the timeline by about three years, which was pretty significant.”
Both legislative committees must approve sending SB461 (or its companion bill AB509) to the floor for a full vote, which would then allow it to go to Gov. Tony Evers’ desk for signing.
WTBA encourages its members to contact their state representative and senator to voice support for the Design Build legislation. You can find your home lawmakers by entering your address HERE.
“Design build is a new approach,” Marklein added. “Any time there’s a change, I think there’s some apprehension by a lot of people, including people in the industry about how this is going to work, but it worked out incredibly well.”
