Wisconsin secures $32 million to lower emissions from road construction  - Government Market News

Wisconsin secures $32 million to lower emissions from road construction 

December 5, 2024

Road construction in Wisconsin is about to get more environmentally friendly. The state’s Department of Transportation (WisDOT) has secured a $32 million federal grant to develop a program promoting the use of low-carbon materials in road construction projects. Officials will collect data from pilot projects using new materials and devise ways to accelerate clean building techniques across the state. 

The funding comes from the Federal Highway Administration’s Low-Carbon Transportation Materials Grants program, which has made $2 billion available to states allocated by passage of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The program is designed to help states transition to more sustainable construction practices while maintaining infrastructure performance. 

RELATED: Wisconsin makes $100 million available for agricultural roads

The construction sector, including transportation infrastructure, is a significant contributor to global emissions. According to the United Nations, buildings and construction account for approximately 37% of global emissions. As states work to meet climate goals, finding ways to reduce the carbon footprint of infrastructure projects has an important role to play. 

WisDOT plans to use the funding to establish a pilot program that will study and implement strategies for measuring the environmental impact of construction materials. The department will create a framework to evaluate eligible materials and set sustainability benchmarks for state project contracts to use those materials in the future. 

“This grant will help us better measure the carbon footprint of transportation projects in Wisconsin,” said WisDOT Secretary Kristina Boardman, in a press release. “This will allow us to increase the use of low-carbon materials and improve the sustainability of our transportation system without sacrificing performance.” 

The initiative will focus particularly on concrete and asphalt materials used in highway construction contracts. WisDOT will develop methods to verify reduced greenhouse gas emissions on pilot projects, with the ultimate goal of scaling up the use of cleaner materials. 

Along with cleaning up road construction, there are several other programs active in Wisconsin using federal dollars to help the state lower its emissions. Earlier this year, the state received $78 million in federal funding to expand electric vehicle infrastructure, establishing 53 new fast-charging stations. The state also secured $10 million through the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program to reduce air pollution and traffic congestion. 


Photo by Anamul Rezwan

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