Business View Magazine - Sept 2023

25 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 9 WISCONSIN TRANSPORTAT ION BUI LDERS ASSOCIAT ION (WTBA) Sure, not every project a Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association (WTBA) member works on gets the royal treatment (a ribbon cutting ceremony complete with cowbells, a marching band, and free food) Menasha provided this spring, but the concepts Association members turn from blueprints and specs into freeways, highways, and bridges literally drive Wisconsin’s economy and build its future. “The members are all pretty much family- owned businesses, so there’s decades of experience that – if they reach out to all of us – we can help them out with what we know. What’s happened in the past and what works, what doesn’t work,” WTBA Past-President Jeff Peterson said. “It’s a good organization.” Decades of expertise WTBA goes back more than 85 years, originally called the Wisconsin Road Builders Association. Contractor companies (WTBA features nearly 90 as members) typically fall under five categories: asphalt and concrete pavers, earthmovers, bridge builders, and aggregate producers. Associate companies (more than 150 as of July 2023) provide a wide array of services ranging from work zone safety equipment, engineering support, and legal and financial guidance. “It’s really an unparalleled resource for industry expertise, advocacy, and networking,” Zignego Company President Dan Zignego said. “WTBA is an irreplaceable partner for our organization.” WTBA staffs an impressive team with decades of experience in engineering, budgets and fiscal policy, legal and regulatory knowledge, and government affairs. Executive Director Steve Baas leads them from the WTBA office, which is just across the street from the state Capitol in Madison. That location isn’t random. The Association, its Director of Government Affairs Elise Nelson, and WTBA’s contract lobbyist spend plenty of time with lawmakers – both in the halls of the Capitol and on the road in their home districts – advocating for the transportation industry on behalf of its members. “From an economic standpoint, transportation infrastructure is like gravity: it is easy to take for granted but if you do the results can be catastrophic,” said Baas. “WTBA works hard to keep the public and policy makers alike informed about the impact our industry has on their daily lives and on the state’s economy.” State budget successes That hard work – all while bridging the gap between Republicans and Democrats in a purple state – tends to pay off. The most recent victory came this summer when Democratic Governor Tony Evers signed a state budget that provides nearly $1 billion in additional funding for Wisconsin’s transportation infrastructure. The money will go toward expanding the Interstate system in Milwaukee, help Wisconsin partner with Minnesota to rebuild Steve Baas