MADISON—Governor Jim Doyle announced today that he has approved
proposals for transit projects in
14 small urban areas and 32 non-urbanized areas around Wisconsin.
Approval is a major step in
securing the portion of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
funding that has been
appropriated for the state. The projects total nearly $34.5 million.

“Investments that make travel safer, easier and more affordable will
not only improve our quality of life, they will help get our economy
back on track,” Governor Doyle said. “Under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act, we have the opportunity to make strategic
improvements to our infrastructure that will help get people to work
and will add lasting value to our economy.”

For the small urban transit systems – cities with populations between
50,000 and 200,000 – the next
step is for each city to work with the Federal Transit Administration
to submit its application and have its project certified by the U.S.
DOT. Funding for these projects totals $23,154,677.

Projects for the non-urbanized transit systems first will need to be
approved by the state legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance, which
is scheduled to take action on Tuesday, April 21. The state Department
of Transportation will then submit funding applications on their
behalf to the federal government. If fully funded, these projects will
total $11,299,461.

The transit formula funding provided by the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act must be used for capital projects, such as buses and
bus facilities, preventive maintenance, security, para-transit
services and other public transit improvements that enhance economic
development.

Funds were allocated to states, and directly to large urban areas –
including Milwaukee and Madison – based on existing FTA formulas.

To view the list of small urban projects, please visit:
www.wisgov.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=16474

To view the list of rural projects, please visit:
www.wisgov.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=16475