Town nets second six-figure grant

In what Belgium Town Chairman Tom Winker called “phenomenal news,” the town in conjunction with the Town of Port Washington has received a grant to rebuild the bridge on Dixie Road.

The design costs are slated to be $155,000 and construction $618,150 — a total of more than $770,000.

The grant is being administered by the state but originally came from the federal government’s $1.7 trillion infrastructure package approved by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.

To qualify, bridges needed to be more than 20 feet long and a sufficiency rating less than 50.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation will be doing the work. Winker said it might be a year or two before the project gets started.

The towns of Belgium and Port share ownership of the bridge.

In spring 2022, the town received a Town Road Improvement Grant for $694,000 to rebuild and pave about one mile of Silver Beach Road, a gravel road that leads into the village’s industrial park.

Those two grants total more than $1.46 million.

“You cannot beat free,” Winker said.

Denny Rahn Excavating of Eden was awarded the contract to rebuild Silver Beach Road for $480,000 and recently began the work. The job’s deadline is September.

Payne and Dolan of Waukesha was awarded the contract to pave the road for $328,000. The first phase is scheduled to be done this fall and the second in spring.

The town picks up any costs beyond $694,000. If cost estimates hold, the town would pay about $114,000 for the work.

The Village of Belgium’s portion of Silver Beach remains a gravel road. The village did not receive a grant and has no plans to pave it at this time.