WisDOT ready to implement Obama’s stimulus package
Loaded and ready to go
Loaded and ready to go
By Jonathan Gramling
Part 2 of 2
It was a very exciting moment for Ruben Anthony, Jr., deputy secretary for the Wis. Dept. of
Transportation (WisDOT). Since WisDOT Secretary Frank Busalacchi was unable to go, Anthony
was headed to the White House on February 11 to present Wisconsin’s plans to spend the federal
stimulus’ funding for infrastructure improvements as a part of the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Anthony is excited about where Wisconsin transportation initiatives are right now — it has $300
million in projects ready to go — and the infrastructure Wisconsin has in place to make the projects
an economic development stimulus. At the heart of Wisconsin’s use of transportation dollars as an
economic development tool is the collaborative relationships it has developed with other key
players.
“We expect that the Primes should be hiring on the labor side because we have the TrANS
Program,” Anthony said. “We have it in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay and Crandon. These
programs train people for 12 weeks or so. They build relationships with the unions. And the critical
Part 2 of 2
It was a very exciting moment for Ruben Anthony, Jr., deputy secretary for the Wis. Dept. of
Transportation (WisDOT). Since WisDOT Secretary Frank Busalacchi was unable to go, Anthony
was headed to the White House on February 11 to present Wisconsin’s plans to spend the federal
stimulus’ funding for infrastructure improvements as a part of the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Anthony is excited about where Wisconsin transportation initiatives are right now — it has $300
million in projects ready to go — and the infrastructure Wisconsin has in place to make the projects
an economic development stimulus. At the heart of Wisconsin’s use of transportation dollars as an
economic development tool is the collaborative relationships it has developed with other key
players.
“We expect that the Primes should be hiring on the labor side because we have the TrANS
Program,” Anthony said. “We have it in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay and Crandon. These
programs train people for 12 weeks or so. They build relationships with the unions. And the critical
| Ruben Anthony Jr., WisDOT deputy secretary at his Hill Farm State Office Building office |
thing they are doing is they are getting diversity on the union benches. The union benches are where the unions recruit to put people on jobs. Particularly in
Milwaukee, we had over 1,000 people of color work on the Marquette Interchange. So you have all of these people ready and willing to work on this project. So
we are uniquely positioned here for the stimulus. It’s the same thing here in Madison. The relationships are being built with unions. They understand that you
have to diversify the bench. I suspect that when we do the roll-out, we’ll see massive inclusion throughout the state on our projects.”
Anthony also expects disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs) to get in on the action as well. On the Marquette interchange project in Milwaukee, DBEs
received $122 million of the $510 million that was bid out. Anthony is pushing to get a similar level of inclusivity on the federal stimulus projects. “The one thing
we know now from the Marquette is that small and medium sized companies don’t have the capacity to do a $100 million contract,” Anthony said. “So to really
get diversity and inclusion in these economic opportunities, how you package the projects is critical. Having small, medium and large components makes a big
difference because projects have a lot of different aspects. You have landscaping, trucking and a lot of things that if you really thought about it, you can find
ways to create more opportunities than just letting out one contract. We expect the DBEs and other businesses that want to work with us to be ready to move.”
Now is the time for DBEs to act, according to Anthony. “You have to do a market analysis and you have to get in to the DBE office and find out what type of
projects are going to be done because that will give you an idea about whether there is a market there for your company,” Anthony emphasized. Individuals
should be looking at the projects that appear on the stimulus list and get into a discussion with the DBE staff to find out what the projects are going to entail. We
have all different success stories on the Marquette because these DBEs took the time to go in and find out what types of projects were going on and
understanding what kind of work would be required on those projects. And some of those guys are simply entrepreneurs. They built companies based on the type
of market that was available.”
Anthony is primed to facilitate the success of the federal stimulus package — not to speak of the previously planned projects — in spurring economic
development in Wisconsin and particularly in communities of color. It is up to Anthony and others to ensure that opportunity is there. It is up to the DBEs to be
proactive and take advantage of that opportunity.
For more information about WisDOT’s DBE Program, call 608-266-6961.
Milwaukee, we had over 1,000 people of color work on the Marquette Interchange. So you have all of these people ready and willing to work on this project. So
we are uniquely positioned here for the stimulus. It’s the same thing here in Madison. The relationships are being built with unions. They understand that you
have to diversify the bench. I suspect that when we do the roll-out, we’ll see massive inclusion throughout the state on our projects.”
Anthony also expects disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs) to get in on the action as well. On the Marquette interchange project in Milwaukee, DBEs
received $122 million of the $510 million that was bid out. Anthony is pushing to get a similar level of inclusivity on the federal stimulus projects. “The one thing
we know now from the Marquette is that small and medium sized companies don’t have the capacity to do a $100 million contract,” Anthony said. “So to really
get diversity and inclusion in these economic opportunities, how you package the projects is critical. Having small, medium and large components makes a big
difference because projects have a lot of different aspects. You have landscaping, trucking and a lot of things that if you really thought about it, you can find
ways to create more opportunities than just letting out one contract. We expect the DBEs and other businesses that want to work with us to be ready to move.”
Now is the time for DBEs to act, according to Anthony. “You have to do a market analysis and you have to get in to the DBE office and find out what type of
projects are going to be done because that will give you an idea about whether there is a market there for your company,” Anthony emphasized. Individuals
should be looking at the projects that appear on the stimulus list and get into a discussion with the DBE staff to find out what the projects are going to entail. We
have all different success stories on the Marquette because these DBEs took the time to go in and find out what types of projects were going on and
understanding what kind of work would be required on those projects. And some of those guys are simply entrepreneurs. They built companies based on the type
of market that was available.”
Anthony is primed to facilitate the success of the federal stimulus package — not to speak of the previously planned projects — in spurring economic
development in Wisconsin and particularly in communities of color. It is up to Anthony and others to ensure that opportunity is there. It is up to the DBEs to be
proactive and take advantage of that opportunity.
For more information about WisDOT’s DBE Program, call 608-266-6961.