Jan. 7—WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Wisconsin Department of Transportation will receive $300,000 in federal revenue to connect more Wisconsinites to well-paying jobs in highway construction, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., announced Tuesday, Jan. 7.
The money will help create a new partnership between the state, workforce development organizations and schools to recruit, train and place people in highway construction jobs, including to help reconstruct the Blatnik Bridge.
Reconstruction of the Blatnik Bridge is expected to begin in the fall of 2026 and includes a complete closure for about four years beginning in 2027.
WisDOT will utilize the funds to expand its Highway Construction Skills Training program into northern Wisconsin and develop the Highway Construction Workforce Partnership (HCWP-North) to engage stakeholders to recruit, train and place people in the highway construction workforce.
Training will focus on developing the workforce to support the Blatnik Bridge project and expansion of I-41 in the Green Bay area, as well as to support tribal workforce needs, according to a news release.
The funding comes through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Highway Construction Training Program, which is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Baldwin pushed the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund the project, she said in a press release.
“Our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is going to replace crumbling infrastructure, keep families safe and strengthen supply chains — but we need a highly skilled workforce to meet this moment and make this investment a reality,” Baldwin said in the release. “I am proud to bring home this funding that will help connect more Wisconsinites with good-paying careers in the construction trades.”
“I’ve been proud to support this training program from the start,” Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement, “and I’m grateful to Sen. Baldwin for securing this federal funding to help recruit, train and retain construction highway workers and continue our work to fix the darn roads and infrastructure across our state.”