Eau Claire County Highway Commissioner and Wisconsin County Highway Association (WCHA) President Jon Johnson sits down with longtime WCHA Board Member and Barron County Supervisor Marv Thompson to discuss how county officials can get involved with the WCHA Board.

Please be sure to share this video with your county officials and encourage them to get involved today!

The Wisconsin County Highway Association held their 2021 Commissioner training April 27-28, 2021 in Wisconsin Dells, as well as virtually. Over 50 officials were in person, along with over 20 tuning in virtually.

See photos of the WCHA event here.

To view presentations from the two-day training, please login to the member section of this website and go to “WCHA Documents and Resources>2021 Commissioner Training.”

Note: If you have issues accessing the member portal, please contact Michelle Gormican Thompson via email.

WCHA is hosting their 2021 Work Zone Training course in the month of April.

This in-person and Zoom course is intended for WCHA counties to get updated according to the WisDOT’s new requirements on work zones using the revised 2021 Wisconsin Work Zone Field Manual.

SIX SESSIONS, 8:00 AM TO 12:00 PM

April 6, 2021
Brown County Highway Department
2198 Glendale Avenue, Green Bay, WI 54303

APRIL 8, 2021
Columbia County Highway Department
P.O. Box 875, Wyocena, WI 53696

APRIL 9, 2021
Milwaukee County Highway Department
10320 W. Watertown, Plank Road, Wauwatosa, WI 53223

APRIL 15, 2021
St. Croix County Highway Department
300 Oak Ridge Pkwy, Baldwin, WI 54002

APRIL 21, 2021
Waupaca County Highway Department
2670 County Road A, Waupaca, WI 54981

APRIL 22, 2021
Ashland County Highway Department
39181 STH 13, Highbridge, WI 54846

*Registration fee $95 per person

Please send registration to:
Gary Kennedy
WCHA Prof. Development Director
1355 N. 16th Street
Manitowoc, WI 54220
hwygaryk@gmail.com

PRESENTATIONS FROM WORK ZONE TRAINING

Please login to the WCHA member site to see presentations from this training. Once logged in, go to “WCHA Documents and Resources>2021 Work Zone Training.” Contact Michelle Thompson via email if you have issues logging in to the system.

There are many employment opportunities across the state within the Wisconsin county highway departments.

To best access the most up-to-date job listings in Wisconsin’s 72 counties, including employment requirements, certifications and deadlines for posting, please click here and search current postings within the Wisconsin Counties Association job database.  Check back often, as the job listings are updated almost daily.

The Wisconsin County Highway Association is seeking applicants for the contracted service provider position of WCHA Deputy Director.

This position will work with the WCHA Executive Director, WCHA Professional Development Director, the WCHA Executive Committee and the WCHA Board of Directors on various transportation related topics, as well as provide services to the members of WCHA.

• Learn more about the position here.
• See the Scope of Services document here.

Please post in your departments and distribute to all interested individuals.

Questions?
For additional information, contact WCHA Executive Director Daniel J. Fedderly, P.E.; PLS at 715-505.9242 or email.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released their 2021 calendar of events and speciality weeks focusing on a wide range of topics, such as National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

See the full 2021 NHTSA calendar here and plan ahead to highlight weeks important to your county here.

The WCHA Conference Coordinating Committee hosted the 2020 State Summer Highway Conference (Road School) in Wisconsin Dells at the Chula Vista Resort August 10-12, 2020.

See photos from the 2020 WCHA Summer Road School here.

See handouts from 2020 WCHA Summer Road School speakers in the Member Section here.

Questions
If you have any questions about upcoming WCHA events, please contact:
Gary L. Kennedy
WCHA Professional Development Director
1355 North 16th Street
Manitowoc, WI 54220
920-323-6500

LRIPWeb, the web-based tool that allows communities to manage their Local Roads Improvement Program (LRIP) dollars and public road projects, has been improved.

The enhanced LRIPWeb was released on June 22, 2020. It was developed by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) in response to feedback from LRIP partners, and is a more intuitive and efficient tool.

NEW FEATURES ENHANCE USER EXPERIENCE
While retaining the LRIPWeb format that users are familiar with, some of the changes based on stakeholder feedback that were incorporated into LRIPWeb to enhance the user experience are:

• An accordion style format that guides the user through the process, allowing easier navigation both backwards and forwards, with subtle color coding to indicate the completed steps, all on one screen.
• On-screen instructions were reworked to be more intuitive, with the goal of reducing the number of returned applications and reimbursement requests.
• Quick access buttons were added in the header of some screens which allow the user a “short-cut” to project documents and shared comments with one click.
• To assist with correspondence between LRIPWeb users, each screen allows the user to enter shared comments that become “pop-up” notices for the next user as the request is promoted or demoted through the application and opened from their work queue.
• The mapping function has been improved and provides the user an instant on-screen map of the selected road section(s) and a dynamic road section diagram to assist the user with road width calculation.
• Users are now allowed to enter separate improvement criteria for multiple road sections within the same project application, and the SMA will now list all the road improvement information.
• The secure Transportation Assistance System (TAS) log-in allows the application to prefill information for you, including the names and addresses of your local officials and your name and title, based on your unique email address, enabling you to simply check a box as confirmation of your electronic signature.

LEARN MORE
LRIP program participants can learn more about the enhancements through videos, webinars and other educational materials on the LRIP website at: WisconsinDOT.gov/LRIP.

For additional questions, please contact Patrick Vander Sanden, WisDOT LRIP Program Manager at 608.266.0775 or via email.

On July 16, 2020, WCHA Past President and Barron County Highway Commissioner Mark Servi, representing WCHA and the National Association of County Engineers, attended an invitation only White House press briefing.

The discussion was on the streamlining and reducing regulatory burdens on transportation projects.

Local Program Project Development Process training presentations are now available on the Federal State Aid Project Delivery, Procedures and Tools webpage.

The training includes eleven presentations prepared in partnership with Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, and the American Public Works Association (APWA) Wisconsin Chapter to help define the critical components necessary for a successful design project.

Access the Local Program Project Development Process Training Videos Here

The goals, or learning objectives of the presentations are to inform participants so they are able to:

• Identify roles and responsibilities of all parties involved in delivering a local projects through the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Local Program, including those steps and approvals required of the local public agency sponsoring the project.
• Understand the overall process and critical steps required to deliver a successful local road or bridge project with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
• Access information on valuable resources available to support development of all stages in the project delivery process.
• Anticipate the sequence and duration of critical steps in the project delivery process that define the overall local project schedule.