Governor Walker announces $600,000 transportation grant to city of Fond du Lac

January 24, 2013

Award creates 70 new jobs at McNeilus Steel; constructs rail connections for facility

Governor Scott Walker announced today that the city of Fond du Lac is being awarded a Transportation Economic Assistance (TEA) grant. The $600,000 award represents the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s contribution toward rail improvements to serve McNeilus Steel’s expanding facility in Fond du Lac.

This TEA project will create 70 new jobs and retain 50 direct jobs at McNeilus Steel, while indirectly supporting another 91 jobs. The rail improvement project includes construction of a 2,360 foot track and a 1,570 foot rail spur to off-load materials at McNeilus Steel’s new and existing facilities. Construction is expected to begin in May and be completed by September 2013. The TEA grant represents nearly 50 percent of the $1,273,076 rail construction costs. The remainder of the funding is being providing by the city of Fond du Lac and McNeilus Steel.

McNeilus Steel is building a $20 million warehouse addition to its full-line steel distribution and processing facility. The new addition is expected to be completed this spring.

Since it was created in 1987, the TEA grant program has invested more than $88.6 million in 323 projects benefiting 353 businesses and creating or retaining 76,023 jobs in Wisconsin.

For more information, contact:
Don Uelmen, WisDOT TEA Program Manager
(608) 266-3488, don.uelmen@wi.dot.gov