Baldwin-Backed Infrastructure Law Delivers Over $5.6 Billion for Wisconsin In First Two Years

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) released the following statement celebrating the two-year anniversary of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which has delivered over $5.6 billion in funding for Wisconsin roads, bridges, broadband, water infrastructure, and more. 

 “Two years ago, Republicans and Democrats came together to make an investment in Wisconsin and our nation’s future. Whether it be replacing lead pipes to keep kids healthy, repaving roads and replacing crumbling bridges to keep our economy moving forward, or connecting more Wisconsinites to high-speed internet, it is clear that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is delivering for Wisconsin families and businesses,” said Senator Baldwin. “I am proud to see my strong Buy America provisions ensuring that this investment in America’s infrastructure is also investing in American businesses and workers. In just the first two years, communities from Bayfield to Beloit are reaping the benefits of these investments, and I remain committed to ensuring the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to work for Wisconsin and puts Wisconsinites to work.”

Senator Baldwin championed strong Buy America provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, requiring that key manufactured products for materials used in roads, bridges, broadband, and water infrastructure, be manufactured in the United States, supporting American jobs, businesses, and workers. In August, Senator Baldwin helped announce that Sanmina in Kenosha County is bringing up to 200 manufacturing jobs to Wisconsin to produce key components that expand access to broadband, in part because of the Buy America standards in the BIL.

The $5.6 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for Wisconsin that Senator Baldwin helped secure is headed to over 327 specific projects. In the coming years, Wisconsin can expect to see additional investments. Information on and examples of investments in Wisconsin’s roads, bridges, broadband, and water infrastructure can be found below:

Safe Roads and Bridges

Senator Baldwin secured $3.4 billion for Wisconsin roads, bridges, roadway safety, and major projects, including:

• $3.1 billion in highway formula funding and $135 million in dedicated formula funding for bridges.
• $66.2 million through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program and $80 million through the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects (INFRA) program.

John Nolen Drive Bridges: Over $15 million in BIL funding will replace six off-system bridges along the John Nolen Drive causeway, a major artery into downtown Madison, across Lake Monona. The six two-lane bridges (three north-bound, three southbound) on the corridor have reached the end of their service lives. This project will also include a separated bike and pedestrian path, traffic signals and street lighting, smart technologies to manage traffic, and associated green infrastructure.

City of Beloit: Over $13 million in BIL along with annual budget funding will make safety improvements including a new bridge on Willowbrook Road, reconstruction of Willowbrook Road, reconstruction of Colley Road, multilane roundabouts at three intersections, and railroad crossing improvements.

City of Milwaukee: Over $14 million through the RAISE program to make street improvements on approximately 1.5 miles of West Villard Avenue from North Sherman Boulevard to the Oak Leaf Trail and 20th Street Powerline Trail at N 20th Street. Improvements include raised bike lanes, raised intersections, curb extensions, bus bulbs, lighting and signal improvements, a pedestrian plaza, and other streetscaping enhancements.

Columbia County: $80 million in BIL funding to replace the existing I-39/90/94 Wisconsin River Bridge with two new bridge spans dedicated to serve traffic in opposite directions. Two overcrossing bridges for county roads (CTH U and CTH V), will also be replaced.

Eau Claire County: Over $49 million through the National Highway Freight Program and National Highway Performance Program for I-94 from the I-94/US 53 interchange to Mallard Road for construction and pavement replacement.

Bayfield County: $4.9 million through the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program to replace existing concrete pavement on WIS 13 (Bayfield Street) which has deteriorated.

Increasing Access to Affordable High-Speed Internet

Senator Baldwin successfully delivered Wisconsin more than $1 billion through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD) to expand access to high-speed internet. Wisconsin also received $14.9 million in funding to expand middle-mile infrastructure in the state. In addition, about 413,000 households in Wisconsin have saved on the cost of internet from the Affordable Connectivity Program, a program funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program: Over $35 million for Wisconsin from the program made possible by the Baldwin-supported Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and annual funding legislation, to support Tribal government efforts to bring high-speed Internet to Tribal lands, including telehealth, distance learning, and affordability initiatives. Along with projects for the Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, Forest County Potawatomi Community, Sokaogon Chippewa Community, Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, Stockbridge-Munsee Community, and Oneida Nation, this includes:

• Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians: Over $25 million to install fiber directly connecting 2,300 unserved Native American households, plus 25 businesses, the Tribal Government, and 19 community anchor institutions with qualifying broadband service at speeds up to 100 Mbps symmetrical.
• Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa: Over $8 million to install fiber to directly connect 705 unserved Native American households, 18 unserved Native American businesses, and 4 Native American community anchor institutions with fiber-to-the-home 940 Mbps/30 Mbps service.

Dairyland Power Cooperative (Western Wisconsin): Nearly $15 million to Dairyland Power Cooperative to implement its Tri-State Fiber Deployment Project (TSFDP), which will?retrofit 240.23 miles of fiber optic communications network using mostly optical ground wire (OPGW) on DPCs transmission lines in 3 years. Through the TSFDP, last mile providers in Barron, Polk, Burnett, and Washburn Counties will have enhanced capacity to reach unserved and underserved residents at affordable rates and help bridge the nations digital divide.?

Delivering Clean and Safe Water

Senator Baldwin brought home $369 million to Wisconsin to provide clean and safe water across the state and improve water infrastructure. This includes $336 million available to date to provide clean and safe water across the state through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Of this funding, $129.5 million is dedicated to lead pipe and service line replacement, with another $66.7 million for safe drinking water investments that can also support lead pipe replacement.

Lead Service Line Replacement (LSLR) Accelerators: Wisconsin was selected as one of four states designated as an LSLR Accelerator. The EPA program will provide hands-on support to guide communities through the process of lead service line removals from start to finish. In August, Senator Baldwin visited a lead pipe removal site in Milwaukee to see how infrastructure dollars are accelerating LSLR.

Improving Public Transit

Senator Baldwin secured $237.1 million to improve Wisconsin’s public transportation options and $25.8 million for Wisconsin through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program. In addition, communities in Wisconsin were awarded $42.4 million for clean transit buses and improved bus service through DOT’s Low-and No-Emission Bus and Bus Facilities Program.

City of Madison: Over $37 million for their Electrify Madison initiative, which will be used to buy battery-electric buses to replace older diesel buses and install charging equipment and solar panels to modernize its bus maintenance facility, as well as develop a workforce training program.

Clean Buses: Several Wisconsin school districts are benefiting from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program, which provides funding to replace existing school buses with clean and zero-emission (ZE) models, including the Palmyra-Eagle Area School District which received a $2.3 million rebate, Granton Area School District which received $1.8 million, Mondovi School District which received $1.9 million, Lumira School District which received $1.5 million, and the Augusta School District which received $1.1 million.

Clean Energy and Power

Senator Baldwin helped deliver approximately $173.1 million to Wisconsin for clean energy, energy efficiency, electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure, and power generation. This includes:

• $95 million for weatherization.
• $7.9 million through the State Energy Program.
• $6.5 million through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program.
• $14.2 million to prevent outages and make the power grid more resilient.
• $45.1 million to build out a network of EV chargers across the state.

Creating Safer, More Efficient Airports

Senator Baldwin ensured Wisconsin received approximately $87.3 million for airports. This money will support investments in runways, taxiways, safety and sustainability projects, as well as terminal improvement projects.

General Mitchell International Airport?Project: $5.1 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Airport Terminal Program to replace flat roof areas on airport buildings that have reached the end of their useful life – making the buildings more resilient to weather and energy efficient.

Dane County Regional Airport Project: $2.6 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Airport Terminal Program to resurface pavement, install 400 energy efficient street lights, improve public bus access and safety, and improve signage and guidance.

Investing in Ports, Resiliency, and Waterways

Senator Baldwin brought $32.1 million to Wisconsin for ports and waterways. BIL also invests $111.6 million in Wisconsin’s infrastructure resilience, including $13.2 million through the Army Corps of Engineers for flood mitigation.

Port of Milwaukee: Over $9 million in BIL and annual budget funding will help construct two grain storage silos, purchase additional grain handling equipment, purchase rolling equipment including a locomotive, excavators, and skid steers to move products between storage and vessels.

Port of Green Bay: Over $10.1 million in BIL and annual budget funding through Port Infrastructure Development Program Grants to redevelop the decommissioned Pulliam power plant site into a state-of-the-art port facility. The project will include brownfield clean-up, filling in an old boat slip, dredging, resurfacing, and construction of a new dock wall, crane pad, asphalt pads, and rail lines.

Algoma Harbor: An over $19 million BIL investment from the Corps of Engineers to help rebuild the South Pier, which has not been updated since it was built over 100 years ago. The project will stabilize the North Pier and South Breakwater Pier so that they can sustain rising water levels.

Cleaning Up Legacy Pollution

Senator Baldwin delivered BIL funding to address legacy pollution and conserve ecosystems, including the Great Lakes and former industrial sites across Wisconsin.

Brownfields: Wisconsin received approximately $15.4 million to clean up brownfield sites, or land that is abandoned or underutilized because of pollution from industrial use. Senator Baldwin joined EPA Administrator Regan in Milwaukee in May to celebrate funding announced for Milwaukee, Calumet County, Green Bay, Sheboygan County, Eau Claire and more to expedite the assessment and cleanup of brownfield sites.

Great Lakes Areas of Concern: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law makes a $1 billion investment in the Great Lakes to clean up and restore severely degraded sites, known as “Areas of Concern” or AOCs. Wisconsin has four AOC’s near the St. Louis River, Fox River, Milwaukee Estuary, and Sheboygan. In October, Senator Baldwin joined EPA Administrator Regan to announce $275 million in BIL funding would go to cleaning up the Milwaukee Estuary.

A full list of federal investments heading to Wisconsin under BIL can be found here.   

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