WisDOT received 1,596 eligible applications for the one-time $75 million Multimodal Local Supplement (MLS) grant program. The needs detailed in the applications total $1.47 billion. Today the department awarded 152 project grants. TDA Executive Director Debby Jackson issued the following statement in response:
“It is excellent news that 152 projects will receive funding through the MLS grant program. After decades of disinvestment, communities face a backlog of projects vital to their local economies and few options to fund them. Unfortunately, more than 1,400 local projects are left with an uncertain path forward.
“Providing an additional $75 million for local communities is critically important, and we applaud the bipartisan effort that made this happen. At the same time, we cannot overlook the fact that the local needs documented through the MLS applications are just the tip of the iceberg. We also have significant challenges to maintain and modernize our state highways, the Interstate System, and other components of Wisconsin’s transportation network. We are grateful for the progress made in the last budget, but there is still a lot of work to do.
“Wisconsin needs a long-term, sustainable transportation funding plan to provide the safe, efficient infrastructure required by a growing economy.”
About TDA
From the buses in Racine to the Port of Green Bay to the rail lines in Superior to the Waukesha County Airport to the roads we use every day, Wisconsin’s transportation network is the key to connecting goods to market and people to jobs. Founded in 1971, the Transportation Development Association of Wisconsin promotes the vitality and safety of the state’s transportation system, including public transit systems, public-use airports, railroads, commercial ports, and roads. TDA’s members include businesses, labor unions, citizen groups, units of government, and individuals.
Contact us at: www.tdawisconsin.org and Twitter handle @TDAWisconsin