Western Wisconsin Municipalities Receive Pedestrian Safety Funds

A number of Western Wisconsin municipalities will receive significant federal funding to improve pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.

Governor Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation have announced the distribution of over $32 million in federal funding to support nearly 50 projects across the state.

According to a press release, the funding is meant to help local municipalities improve their pedestrian infrastructure, including projects like building or expanding bicycle and pedestrian facilities and improving local trails as well as expanding services through the Safe Routes to School Program.

The City of Prescott received one of the largest funding awards among Western Wisconsin municipalities at $5.5 million to create safer crossings for cyclists and pedestrians along U.S. Highway 10 as well as State Highways 29 and 35. The City has been pursuing the project for years, launching a study to explore possible locations for those crossings in November of 2024. Their goal was to encourage more non-motorized travel between the northern part of the City and the schools and businesses further south.

Eau Claire County received over $700,000 to reconstruct the Altoona Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge. According to the press release, the bridge was first built in the early 1900s and is part of a trail system that stretches from Cornell to Menomonie.

The City of New Richmond also received $1.1 million to support their County Trunk Highway K bike and pedestrian trail project and the City of La Crosse received over $800,000 to support an extension project for the King Street Greenway.

A full list of projects that received funding is available on the Wisconsin Department of Transportation website.