SB 285

Under current law, the Department of Transportation (DOT) administers a

major highway projects program. With limited exceptions, including an exception

for southeast Wisconsin freeway rehabilitation projects, a major highway project is

a project having a total cost of more than $5,000,000 and involving: 1) construction

of a new highway 2.5 miles or more in length; 2) reconstruction or reconditioning of

an existing highway that relocates at least 2.5 miles of the highway or adds one or

more lanes five miles or more in length to the highway; or 3) improvement of an

existing multilane, divided highway to freeway standards. Any major highway

project, unlike other highway construction projects undertaken by DOT, must

generally receive the approval of the Transportation Projects Commission (TPC) and

the legislature (generally referred to as "enumeration") before the project may be

constructed. The TPC may not recommend approval of any major highway project

prior to the completion by DOT, and review by the TPC, of a final environmental

impact statement (EIS) or environmental assessment (EA) approved by the Federal

Highway Administration (FHWA). The legislature may not enumerate any major

highway project unless the TPC has recommended approval of the project.

This bill requires DOT to commence, in the 2009-11 fiscal biennium, the

preparation of an EIS or EA, as applicable, for a project involving the construction

of a new bridge across the Wisconsin River and associated highway connecting CTH

"Z" to STH 54/73 in Wood County. DOT must construct this project if: 1) DOT's final

EIS or EA for the project is approved by the FHWA by a certain date; and 2) there

are sufficient funds available in DOT's federal funds and local funds appropriations

for major highway projects to fully fund construction of the project. Upon

construction, the bridge and highway that are the subject of the project become part

of the state trunk highway system.