Wisconsin Legislative Council
ACT MEMO
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Prepared by: David Moore, Senior Staff Attorney July 17, 2023
2023 Wisconsin Act 13
[2023 Senate Bill 247]
Agricultural Roads Improvement
Program Grants
2023 Wisconsin Act 13 creates a temporary program, within the Local Roads Improvement Program
(LRIP),
1
that provides grants to local governments to reimburse up to 90 percent of a local
government’s reimbursable costs for eligible agricultural road projects.
ELIGIBILITY
Under the act, a project is eligible for an agricultural roads improvement grant if all of the following
apply:
The project is to improve a highway functionally classified by the Department of Transportation
(DOT) as a local road or minor collector or a bridge or culvert on a highway functionally classified
by the department as a local road or minor collector.
If the project is solely for the improvement of a bridge or culvert, the bridge or culvert is 20 feet or
less in length and is not eligible for funding under a federal program providing support for bridge
improvements.
The highway, bridge, or culvert provides access to agricultural lands or facilities used for the
production of agricultural goods, including forest products, and is used by at least one agricultural
producer.
The highway is designated as a class “B” highway due to structural deficiencies, or has been subject
to a posted weight limitation for at least one month during the previous year.
After the completion of the project, the highway will not be designated as a class “B” highway and
will not be subject to a posted weight limitation other than under extraordinary or emergency
circumstances.
APPLICATION AND PROJECT SELECTION
The act requires DOT to prescribe the form, nature, and extent of information contained in an
application for a grant. If feasible, the application may not exceed two pages in length and must be
reasonably accessible to local governments with limited staffing resources. If the application is for a
1
LRIP reimburses local governments for improving seriously deteriorating highways. LRIP provides grants of state
funds for capital improvements on existing county, town, city, and village roads, and for feasibility studies for such
improvements. Generally, grants may cover up to 50 percent of the total project cost. In each of the 2019-21 and 2021-
23 biennial budget acts, however, the Legislature provided supplemental LRIP funds that could be used to reimburse up
to 90 percent of project costs. - 2 -
project to improve a class “B” highway, DOT must require the applicant to state when the highway was
designated as a class “B” highway.
The act requires DOT to establish a committee to review grant applications and award grants. The
committee membership must have geographically diverse representation and must include
representatives of agricultural industries and local governments eligible for agricultural roads
improvement grants. DOT and the committee must select projects that provide the greatest benefit to
agricultural producers in this state using the following criteria:
Projects that improve access by the largest number of agricultural producers to agricultural lands
and facilities used for the production of agricultural goods, including forest products.
Projects that will result in reduction of any of the following for agricultural producers:
o Repeated trips at reduced weights.
o Labor costs.
o Fuel costs.
o Mileage upon and damage to equipment used in agricultural production.
o Costs other than any of the above resulting from a highway being designated as a Class “B”
highway or being subject to a posted weight limit under other than extraordinary or emergency
circumstances.
Projects that will result in the greatest positive economic impact.
Projects for which the highway, bridge, or culvert provides the only feasible access to agricultural
lands used for the production of agricultural goods.
Projects that are the subject of a grant application by a local government that faces demonstrable
fiscal or administrative difficulties in completing highway projects.
Projects that will result in the transportation of the largest amount of agricultural goods, including
forest products.
Projects that improve access to agricultural lands or facilities used for the production of agricultural
goods, including forest products, for more than one agricultural producer.
DOT must also attempt to award grants to political subdivisions in all geographic areas of the state.
GRANT AWARDS AND ADMINISTRATION
A grant may reimburse up to 90 percent of eligible costs. Eligible costs include any cost related to the
project, including costs of planning, designing, engineering, and constructing an agricultural road
project. A local government may apply for partial payment, but not more frequently than quarterly.
Under the act, a local government that is awarded a grant may designate DOT to act as a fiscal agent of
the local government for purposes of a project funded by the grant. When acting as a fiscal agent, DOT
must, upon request, pay reimbursable project costs when the costs are incurred by the local government
and retain or receive grant funds as reimbursement for those payments.
The act prohibits a local government from designating a highway, bridge, or culvert improved with an
agricultural roads improvement grant as a class “B” highway or posting a weight limitation. An
exception to this prohibition allows the local government to designate or post the highway, bridge, or
culvert under extraordinary or emergency circumstances if the local government obtains a pavement or - 3 -
structural analysis by a professional engineer or the relevant county highway commissioner that
supports the weight limitation and certifies to DOT the reason for the weight limitation.
SUNSET
The act prohibits DOT from awarding any agricultural roads improvement grants after June 23, 2026,
and prohibits the department from reimbursing any costs incurred under the act’s provisions after June
23, 2028.
The act also generally sunsets the act’s provisions on June 24, 2028. The act excepts from this sunset
the provision prohibiting a local unit of government from designating a highway improved with an
agricultural roads improvement grant a Class “B” highway or posting a special weight limitation absent
extraordinary or emergency circumstances, and the provision prohibiting the department from
reimbursing costs incurred under the act after June 23, 2028.
Effective date: June 23, 2023
For a full history of the bill, visit the Legislature’s bill history page.
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