Onalaska approves design contract step to pursue federal TAP funds for Highway 16 path

The Onalaska Board of Public Works and Utilities approved a contract step to hire MSA Professional Services for design and federal-level environmental and permitting work aimed at qualifying a State Trunk Highway 16 off‑street path for Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funds from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

Alder Steven Knott moved to approve the design work not to exceed $64,827; the motion was seconded and adopted by voice vote.

City staff said the project’s design is roughly 75% complete for local bidding, but TAP requires additional environmental paperwork and federal-process compliance. “We are in discussions with [Wisconsin DOT], and there’s a program called the TAP program,” Kevin Schubert, city staff, said. He told the board the city has a good chance of receiving redistributed TAP funds if the design and environmental steps are completed to federal standards.

Schubert said the city will still advertise the project locally but that TAP funding could cover about 80% of construction. He outlined the budget context: the project was originally scoped at about $220,000 in an earlier estimate; current design work suggests the full construction cost could be about $300,000. Under an 80% TAP award, the city’s construction share would fall to roughly $60,000, although Schubert noted the engineering-design step being approved would be covered from construction-budgeted funds in the 2025 capital-improvements budget.

The board discussed the value of having “shovel‑ready” projects so the city can tap redistributed state funds. Board members urged maintaining at least one ready-to-go project for future grant opportunities. Staff said negotiations for right-of-way purchase will come to the board in a future meeting and that the MSA proposal does not include right-of-way acquisition.

The motion passed by voice vote; board members did not request a roll-call tally.