Monroe County wins $8.4 million for County Highway ET as DOT pushes faster permitting

Monroe County officials on Thursday celebrated a community project appropriation of $8.4 million for County Highway ET, with U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Congressman Derek Van Orden on hand to mark the award.

"We're able to secure $8,400,000 for this road here in Monroe County," Congressman Derek Van Orden said, thanking county leaders and saying the funding resulted from local advocacy, state legislators and work in the appropriations process.

David Onstead, who identified himself as Monroe County highway commissioner, presented Van Orden with thanks on behalf of the county and named local staff and committee leaders who worked on the project. "The first is to congressman Derek Van Orden for sponsoring a community project appropriation for the County Highway ET multimodal initiative," Onstead said.

Secretary Duffy, who said rural Wisconsin would not be forgotten, used the appearance to outline a DOT priority: make federal transportation dollars go further by moving projects faster. "Sometimes projects, 40% of the cost of a project goes to consultants, not to these guys," Duffy said, arguing that long permitting timelines and additional requirements can drive up costs and reduce the amount spent on actual construction.

Duffy urged a balance between environmental review and speed, saying he wants to "look at the environmental impact and let's move faster because time is money." He specifically criticized adding further requirements beyond congressional conditions, citing "green requirements" and "DEI requirements" as examples that, he said, increase costs.

Speakers also framed workforce needs as central to delivering the investment. Van Orden and others stressed the importance of trade schools and skilled construction workers to ensure the county can use the funds once they arrive.

Event remarks ranged beyond the local project: Van Orden made extended national-security comments about Iran, saying "We are not starting a war with Iran. We are ending the war that Iran declared on The United States Of America," and Duffy added comments about national energy policy. Those remarks were delivered in the same event but were separate from the county funding announcement.

Onstead closed with a brief operational note for county crews about a midnight interstate work shift and thanked the DOT and congressman for their support. The event ended with closing remarks from Secretary Duffy.

Next steps for the County Highway ET project, including design, procurement schedules and construction start dates, were not specified at the event.