Gov. Evers, WisDOT Announce Transportation Economic Assistance Grant to Support Nearly 150 Jobs in Southeast Wisconsin

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), today announced an over $700,000 Transportation Economic Assistance (TEA) grant awarded to the village of Saukville. The grant will support the creation of 146 jobs through a roadway improvement project to accommodate traffic flow for employees, vendors, and deliveries for an orthodontic manufacturing and distribution company.

[inarticled]“This grant is an investment not only in the village of Saukville and Ozaukee County but in our statewide economy by helping support over 140 jobs in the area and making sure our communities have the strong, reliable infrastructure needed for economic development to grow and thrive,” said Gov. Evers. “Since Day One, my administration and I have been committed to building the 21st-century infrastructure our state needs to support a 21st-century workforce and economy, and this project is a great example of doing exactly that.”

The grant announced today helps fund an extension of the transportation network within the Northern Gateway, a mixed-use development with housing, retail, and commercial properties, by extending and completing Market Street northward, providing American Orthodontics access to WIS 33. The new roadway will consist of both a raised wetland crossing with culverts and earthwork, as well as a section of village standard surface roadway.

“TEA grants encourage businesses to relocate or expand within Wisconsin,” said WisDOT Secretary Kristina Boardman. “Through these grants, we’re investing in transportation solutions that aid job growth, increase connectivity, and reduce manufacturing costs. WisDOT proudly supports this project and the many others that benefit our local communities.”

The TEA program provides financial assistance to communities to support transportation infrastructure improvements that will help attract new employers or encourage existing employers to expand. In calendar year 2025, the Evers Administration has awarded three TEA grants to Wisconsin communities, totaling over $1.8 million and supporting the creation of at least 375 new jobs.

With the completion of Market Street, the Saukville development will become highly accessible for multiple modes of transportation entering and leaving the area. Traffic studies revealed the need for a roadway to provide north/south access to the Northern Gateway development. A deciding factor for American Orthodontics in locating to the development was the opportunity to be near a metropolitan area conducive to attracting new employees and gaining local support, all of which will be accomplished with the implementation of this latest TEA grant.

“The village of Saukville is grateful to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for awarding us this Transportation Economic Assistance grant,” said Saukville Village President Andy Hebein. “This funding will help create jobs, support the growth of American Orthodontics at the Northern Gateway development, and strengthen our community’s economic future. We also want to thank Kathleen Schilling of Ozaukee Economic Development, Ansay Development, Three Leaf Partners, and our village staff and board members for their invaluable support in securing this grant.”

A municipal or county unit of government must sponsor a TEA application. The project must have the local government’s endorsement, and it must benefit the public. More information about the program, including instructions to apply for a grant, can be found here.

ADDITIONAL EFFORTS BY THE EVERS ADMINISTRATION TO INVEST IN AND SUPPORT WISCONSIN’S TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE

After years of neglect under the previous administration, Gov. Evers has made fixing Wisconsin’s roads and bridges and making sure the state’s infrastructure can meet the needs of a 21st-century workforce and a 21st-century economy a top priority. Since 2019, under his administration, the state has improved more than 8,600 miles of roads and 2,000 bridges statewide. In fact, Wisconsinites could drive from Wausau, Wisconsin, to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and back three times on the number of miles of roads fixed.

In each of his biennial budgets, Gov. Evers has secured historic investments in Wisconsin’s transportation infrastructure, and improving Wisconsin’s roads and bridges continued to be a priority for the governor in the 2025-27 Biennial Budget.

The final 2025-27 Biennial Budget signed by Gov. Evers includes:

• Increasing General Transportation Aids (GTA) by three percent in both 2026 and 2027, which will provide municipalities with $33.2 million more over the biennium and counties with nearly $10 million over the biennium;
• A historic increase of nearly $333 million over the biennium in the state highway rehabilitation program;
• $100 million for the Local Roads Improvement Program;
• Continuing support for the Agricultural Roads Improvement Program, created by Gov. Evers in the 2023-25 biennium, with a $150 million investment to continue repairing and improving Wisconsin’s rural roads to help farmers and producers and the state’s agricultural and forestry industries move products to market safely and efficiently, including $30 million specifically targeted to bridge and culvert repair;
• $244.5 million to keep key projects, such as I-41 and I-39/90, on schedule;
• A 10 percent increase to paratransit aids, increasing funding by $687,600 over the biennium;
• Improving safety on Milwaukee County expressways with $38 million in expressway policing aids; and
• $50 million for the harbor assistance program, including $15 million for the Menominee Harbor Project and $20 million for the Port of Green Bay.

The 2025-27 Biennial Budget also improves ongoing transportation fund revenues by generating nearly $200 million in additional revenue to improve the sustainability of the transportation fund.

In addition to robust investments in transportation infrastructure statewide, the final 2025-27 Biennial Budget invests in local communities to ensure that they are able to address the unique needs of their constituents and bolster local infrastructure, including $14 million through municipal service payments to ensure local communities have the resources they need to meet basic and unique needs alike.

Gov. Evers also exercised his broad, constitutional veto authority to partially veto aspects of the budget that were outside of the bipartisan budget negotiations. More information about the bipartisan budget signed by Gov. Evers is available here.

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.