Building a better road

DE PERE, Wis. — Not long ago, the road in front of Zirbel Dairy Farms in the Town of Rockland was restricted to 8 tons and in dire need of repair. Weight limits were putting a damper on the farm’s productivity and got in the way of planning.

“We have always struggled with weight limits and getting projects started on time,” said Jordan Zirbel. “The township was as lenient as they can be with us on day-to-day activities like hauling milk and feed. But when it came to sand and gravel or concrete for building projects, the limits caused major delays or forced inconvenient half loads that add a lot of cost to projects and made contractors’ schedules more difficult.”

The Zirbel family milks 1,150 cows and farms 2,300 acres on their farm that was established in 1912 near De Pere. Zirbel farms with his parents, Mike and Sandi Zirbel; his sister and brother-in-law, Chelsea and Kris Scheider; and his nephew, Owen Scheider.

When the Zirbels put in a truck scale in 2018, it became clear exactly how much product was coming in and going out of their farm.

“When you have those physical numbers in front of you, it’s not just theory anymore,” Zirbel said. “We started putting the numbers on paper, and it was staggering how many tons of feed come in and milk goes out. Everybody is looking to get more efficient, and we thought, ‘What can we do in one load versus multiple?’”

When Zirbel heard about Wisconsin’s Agricultural Roads Improvement Program, he approached his town board about fixing Morrison Road where his farm is located.

“At first, it kind of fell on deaf ears, but then they researched it and came back to me and said, ‘This might be a decent opportunity,’” Zirbel said. “I can’t say enough positive things about the Town of Rockland and how they handled it all.”

It took approximately one year from that meeting until work on the road was completed. Construction itself took about 3 weeks, wrapping up by mid-August. The project improved Morrison Road from the location of Zirbel’s farm as well as Shirley Road to connect Morrison Road to County Highway W.

ARIP was created in 2023 to improve and repair rural roads and culverts that are critical to transporting agricultural and forestry products. This reimbursement program pays up to a maximum of 90% of total eligible project costs with the balance funded by local government.

The program received $150 million in funding in the 2023-25 state biennial budget. As a result, ARIP funded 91 projects in 48 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties through two rounds of grant applications.

Due to high demand for the program, an additional $150 million was allocated to ARIP in the 2025-27 state budget. Of this investment, $30 million will be specifically targeted to bridge and culvert repair.

“Whether it’s farmers, the timber industry, or local officials — we hear from people all the time about the need to make improvements to local roads,” said Wisconsin Department of Transportation assistant deputy secretary Joel Nilsestuen. “Everyone benefits from having that first and last mile improved so we can haul full loads or take the most direct route to get inputs into the farm or product off of the farm.”

The Shirley/Morrison Road project was 7,400 feet or 1.4 miles in length.
The road was built to 22 feet wide and 2-foot gravel shoulders were added to each side. The existing roadbed was milled and 5 inches of asphalt was installed for the new road surface. In addition, the Zirbels paved in from their driveways and made entrances to protect the edge of the new black-topped road.

“We saw that our driveways were damaging the previous road, so we wanted to take that upon ourselves to fix,” Zirbel said.

The new road provides flexibility to haul full loads.

“There is no weight limit now,” Zirbel said. “This road will be like county or state roads.”

The improved road has enabled the farm’s manure to be transported to an anaerobic digestion facility for turning into renewable biogas. Zirbel said a new road was necessary before proceeding due to the amount of truck traffic this arrangement would create.

The new road is benefitting other dairy and agricultural businesses in the area as well.

“I see a lot of BelGioioso Cheese trucks on Shirley Road,” Zirbel said. “This road is also becoming a better truck route for Shirley Feed Mill and for freight trucks and dump trucks.”

Since it is wider and includes shoulders, the road has also been improved from a safety standpoint, Zirbel said.

“It’s now our designated truck route, and passing vehicles is so much safer,” he said. “We haven’t been through a winter with it yet, but I can only imagine that’s going to be substantially nicer having that buffer and shoulders. One school bus driver said, ‘This sure is nice. I just feel safer when the kids are crossing that road.’”

Zirbel and his family have received multiple comments of appreciation from the neighborhood for the new road.

“We knew we were getting more use out of this road than our neighbors and community, and we were always looking for a way to pay that back,” Zirbel said. “We saw ARIP as the perfect key to achieving all of that.”

Zirbel said more businesses are willing to work with their farm now.

“There is a lot less confusion when it comes to getting to our farm,” he said. “They would see the weight limit sign and say, ‘We can’t come down this road.’ I’m looking forward to springtime with weight limits not being an issue anymore.”

Zirbel said the old road was getting warped and had been that way for 20 years.

“With the town’s limited budget and fixed income, they can only do so much,” he said. “Money from ARIP is key. Townships need to keep applying to continue showing legislators there is a need for this and to keep building on what we’re doing.”

When applying for a project, Nilsestuen said the first step is to talk to neighbors and see if they have a shared interest in improving a certain section of the road. Next, have a conversation with a town board member or county highway commissioner about putting in an application.

“Engage with your local officials early,” Nilsestuen said. “They rely on producers to help put in a strong application that shows how that farm or group of farms is going to benefit. How will they be more efficient? What kind of savings will this provide? Will they save fuel? Are they going to be able to transport full loads? Take a more direct route? Create or retain jobs?”

Nilsestuen said farmers should talk to their milk processors, too. A processor that has to run half loads during spring thaw so as to not be overweight could make the case that if the road is built up to class A standards without weight postings, they could run full loads year round.

A roadway potentially eligible for funding is defined as a local road or minor collector that is designated as class B or has been subject to a load posting for at least one month in the prior year. Another eligibility requirement is that the project must benefit at least one agricultural producer.

“It’s really a dollar-for-dollar basis — how much bang are you getting for your buck?” Nilsestuen said. “If you can benefit multiple operations, it’s going to give your application an advantage.”

Through the first budget, the state received 299 applications reflecting more than $507 million in project costs.

“The demand out there far outstrips our ability to fund every road that needs it,” Nilsestuen said. “$150 million sounds like a lot, but the average project cost is $1.8 million.”

The first round of grant applications for the current budget opened Oct. 6 and will distribute $50 million in funding. Applications for round one must be submitted to WisDOT by Dec. 15. Round two solicitation is anticipated to start in early Spring 2026.

Zirbel encourages farmers facing struggles similar to what he was experiencing to reach out to their township.

“Tell them to have a look,” Zirbel said. “At some point the road is going to get repaired. Either it will be 100% the town’s cost, or if there is state money for it, you may as well take that and build a better road. I would like to find the people who started this program and shake their hand.”