A grant of $2.52 million will be awarded for a road project in the town of Long Lake in Florence County under Wisconsin’s Agricultural Roads Improvement Program.

The work will be done on Lost Lake Road, Chipmunk Rapids Road and Dream Lake Road, as the program aims to improve aging roads and culverts critical to moving agriculture and forestry products.

Gov. Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation announced the funding earlier this month as part of $150 million dedicated to ARIP in the 2023-2025 biennial budget. In June 2023, Evers signed Wisconsin Act 13 to expand the Local Roads Improvement Program to include agricultural road projects by creating the ARIP.

The program funds up to 90% of the total eligible project costs with the balance funded by the local government where the work is performed.

The first ARIP project solicitation awarded nearly $50 million in state investments to support 37 projects across 28 Wisconsin counties. This second investment of $100 million is for 55 projects across 36 counties, including Florence.

In Marinette County, the second round of funding includes $4.5 million for Town Hall Road in the town of Grover, one of the largest awards in the state. The first round of funding included $1.4 million for Dow Dam Road and Grant Street in the town of Amberg in Marinette County.

In the second ARIP project solicitation, 220 applications were received, totaling more than $370 million in requested project funding. Of these 220 applications, 74 were previously submitted for funding consideration in the first ARIP project solicitation, and 146 were new applications.

Over both solicitation periods, WisDOT received 299 unique ARIP applications, reflecting $507 million in project costs, highlighting the increased statewide demand and interest in the program, officials said.

Created within the framework of the existing local roads program, ARIP provided a one-time $150 million segregated fund to enhance rural roads, bridges and culverts.

“The number of applications received clearly demonstrates the need for this program,” WisDOT Secretary Kristina Boardman said in a news release. “WisDOT is proud to support these improvements so our agricultural industries can safely and efficiently get products from point A to point B,” she said.