Local governments receive almost $130 million in quarterly transportation aid

Wisconsin communities this week received $129,698,460 in transportation funding payments, the last quarterly payments for 2020.

For calendar year 2020, local governments received more than $505 million in general transportation aids (GTA) financial assistance to support transportation related projects; a 10 percent increase over calendar year 2019 allocations.

“Fixing our roads and making sure folks can get from A to B or get products to market starts with ensuring our counties, towns, and municipalities have the resources they need to serve our communities and maintain our local roads,” Governor Tony Evers said. “I’m proud we made funding for local roads a priority in our last budget, so Wisconsinites can stay connected and get to work, school, the doctor, or wherever they need to go safely.”

The local assistance increase is part of more than $465 million in new funding for transportation projects included in the 2019-2020 state budget, the largest dedication of new, ongoing revenue to the transportation fund in a generation. In addition to the 10 percent GTA increase, the budget included $320 million in new funding for the State Highway Rehabilitation program and provided $90 million in one-time funding for the Local Roads Improvement Program-Supplement grant program.

“Our local roads are a crucial element of the state’s transportation system,” Craig Thompson, Wisconsin Transportation Secretary-designee, said. “These roads represent the first mile of a farmer’s shipment of crops, or the last mile of a family’s vacation trip. That’s why Wisconsin’s entire transportation system depends on the condition of its local infrastructure.”

The fourth quarter payments to Wisconsin’s 1,922 villages, towns, cities, and counties included:

• $126,426,608.49 in General Transportation Aids
• $3,015,876.10 in Connecting Highway Aids to 117 eligible municipalities.
• $255,975.00 in Expressway Policing Aids to Milwaukee County

General Transportation Aids help cover the costs of constructing, maintaining, and operating roads and streets under local jurisdiction. Connecting Highway Aids reimburse municipalities for maintenance and traffic control of certain state highways within municipalities.

Quarterly payments for cities, towns and villages are sent the first Monday in January, April, July and October. County payments are made in three installments, with 25 percent of the total annual payment on the first Monday in January; 50 percent on the first Monday in July; and 25 percent on the first Monday in October.

List of local payments: https://wisconsindot.gov/Documents/doing-bus/local-gov/astnce-pgms/highway/gta-october.pdf

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.