County expected to get state funds for Hwy. W work

Ozaukee County is in line to receive $1 million in state funding to reconstruct Highway W north of Highway 33 to Mink Ranch Road in the Town of Saukville as part of a project to solve the road’s tendency to flood.

Construction likely won’t occur until 2023 and would take two years to complete, county Highway Commissioner Jon Edgren told the county Public Works Committee last month.

Environmental analyses need to be completed and real estate acquired, Edgren said.

The funds would be granted through the state Department of Transportation’s Local Road Improvement Program.

The Highway W project was one of 42 projects statewide funded through the program, according to a letter from the DOT.

Ozaukee County will have to cover all costs and be reimbursed after the fact, Edgren said. The grant would pay for two-thirds of the $1.5 million project, with the county responsible for the remaining $500,000.

Edgren said he expects to put together a request for proposals in January for an engineering consultant.

Money for the project became available after the state Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that Gov. Tony Evers incorrectly used his line-item veto on transportation funding to fund repaving of the Ozaukee Interurban Trail bike path and similar projects.

The money then went back to the DOT budget originally approved by the Legislature and became available to Ozaukee County.

Highway W was already scheduled to be resurfaced in 2023 as part of the county’s five-year capital improvement program.