Fed gives Interstate expansion a $40 million boost
JANESVILLE—The planned expansion of Interstate 90/39 through Janesville will get a $40 million boost that state transportation officials say will shave two years off that section of the project.
The $40 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will be applied to converting I-90/39 to four lanes in each direction in the four miles between Avalon Road and Highway 14, the Edgerton field office of the state Department of Transportation announced Wednesday.
The state DOT received a “preliminary notice” Wednesday the expansion would receive funding through a new federal grant program that’s being named FASTLANE, according to a release. The multi-year grant program is intended for major highway projects. Overall, the federal program has $800 million in funding, according to a state DOT release.
The state applied for the $40 million grant in April, said Steven Theisen, I-90/39 expansion project spokesman.
The grant comes on the heels of state Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb announcing in May and June that the $1.1 billion expansion and other major road projects statewide could face up to two years of delays under current levels of state transportation funding.
Theisen said the DOT will use the grant money to fast-track lane expansion work through Janesville. He said the grant will allow highway crews to begin work building new lanes through Janesville in 2018.
That would be two years ahead of the planned 2020 start for the Janesville stretch of the expansion, according to an updated schedule the DOT announced late last year.
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