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Committee authorizes county to apply for up to $25 million in RAISE funds for Purple Line corridor upgrades
Summary
Milwaukee County Transit received committee approval to apply retroactively for a federal RAISE grant to invest up to $25 million in capital improvements on the Purple Line (North–South 27th Street), including new shelters, transit-signal priority, floating bus islands and BRT-style platforms; the motion passed unanimously.
The Milwaukee County Committee on Transportation and Transit voted to authorize county staff to apply for and accept federal RAISE grant funds to fund capital improvements on the Purple Line (North–South 27th Street).
David Loecker, Transit Manager for Enhanced Transit at Milwaukee County Transit System, said the county is seeking up to $25,000,000 under the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program to invest in the corridor, which he described as one of the county’s busiest local routes. Loecker told the committee the corridor runs through five municipalities, spans about 18 miles and serves approximately 118,000 residents; he said 73% of residents in the corridor are people of color and 26% are families in poverty.
The requested capital work would include up to 60 new transit shelters (about 15 more than currently in the corridor), traffic-signal optimization for transit signal priority, eight pairs of floating bus islands for traffic calming and up to three pairs of bus rapid transit (BRT)-style platforms. Loecker said the RAISE funds would be used for capital only and would not be expected to increase the county’s operational budget; he described the application as timed to an imminent grant deadline and asked the committee to approve a retroactive application so the county could meet the submission schedule.
Supervisor Martinez asked whether warming technology could be included in shelters; Loecker said warming equipment would likely be out of scope for the current application but the project team would examine options. Supervisor Coggs Jones asked about shelter design and asked for greater lighting and public-art or color options; Loecker said the application collects order-of-magnitude costs now and the county could refine design details later; he also said proposed shelters would include solar-panel lighting.
Tom Stowicki, legislative director for ATU Local 998, asked whether the improvements would align with future Connect 2/BRT planning and whether grant funds could be held against future applications; Loecker said the investments would support future BRT work, that signal priority would be applicable to a future BRT, and that shelters acquired for this project could be redeployed countywide and later replaced as systems evolve.
A comment in support of heating shelters was submitted by Kyle Handel of ATU, who noted cold-weather conditions and urged the county to consider heating technologies used in northern cities.
Supervisor Martinez moved to approve the resolution authorizing the county to apply for and accept RAISE grant funds; the motion carried on roll call with five ayes, zero noes. County staff indicated, if awarded, work would be coordinated with municipalities and contractors and the corridor project could be completed by the end of 2027 if scheduling and funding proceed as expected.
