Mar 11th 2022 | Posted in Transportation by Government Contracting Pipeline

Wisconsin – The state’s Department of Transportation (WisDOT) will distribute $15 million in grants and loans for five freight rail projects worth an estimated $24.4 million. The projects will enhance safety by replacing timber bridges, improving crossings, and allowing emergency vehicle access.
WisDOT awarded the city of Madison more than $3 million to replace Bridge 259 over Troy Drive with a longer structure that will accommodate a wider roadway and sidewalks and enable greater vertical clearance to allow passage of emergency vehicles. These improvements will enhance public safety and access to the Troy Drive neighborhood.
For fiscal year 2022, a private rail carrier has been awarded funding for:
  • Janesville Bridges and Track Restoration – WisDOT awarded $3.38 million to rehabilitate five bridges and one mile of track in Janesville. The project, which will increase capacity of the bridges to 286,000-pound carloads, is estimated to cost $11.28 million. The Wisconsin River Rail Transit Commission, Pecatonica Rail Transit Commission, and East Wisconsin Counties Railroad Consortium have all pledged financial support to the project.
  • Reedsburg Subdivision Track Rehabilitation Phase 2 – The state awarded a grant of up to $3.78 million to rehabilitate 22 miles of track from Waunakee in Dane County to Devil’s Lake in Sauk County. The project will consist of replacing 27,550 ties and reconstructing nine public road crossings.
  • Prairie Subdivision Bridge Replacement – WisDOT awarded a grant of up to $3 million to replace four timber bridges on the Prairie Subdivision in Crawford, Grant, Iowa, and Sauk counties. The project bridges will be replaced with new steel trestles at a total cost of $3.74 million.
  • Reedsburg Subdivision Bridge Rehabilitation – The state awarded a grant of up to $621,376 comprising 80 percent of the $773,565 total project cost to rehabilitate two bridges located near Lodi in Columbia County.
In 2021, Gov. Tony Evers signed the 2021-23 biennial budget which provided $20 million for the Wisconsin Freight Railroad Preservation program. Through this investment, the program provided $12.7 million in grants, and the Freight Railroad Infrastructure Improvement Program provided $2.1 million in loans. The remaining funding is from matching funds from participants.