SHAWANO, WI- The Shawano County Highway Department has received a $514,572 grant to help cover the costs of five asphalt road projects. The grant, provided through the Local Roads Improvement Program administered by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, will reimburse up to 50% of the asphalt expenses for these projects.

Highway Commissioner Grant Bystol explained that the grant came from additional funds allocated to the nine counties in the district.

The projects benefiting from the grant include:

• 0.58 miles of County Road HHH from East Green Bay Street to Gumaer Road, already completed earlier this year.
• 3.23 miles of County Road M from Meisner Road to Lenz Road in the Town of Fairbanks.
• 0.66 miles of County Road M from the Wolf River to State Highway 29.
• 0.25 miles of County Road MM from County Road M to the railroad tracks near the Shawano Paper Mill.
• 1.5 miles of County Road D from Center Street to North Branch Road in the Town of Pella, with work scheduled to begin this week.

All of the work is being carried out by the county highway department, with asphalt supplied by Northeast Asphalt in Shawano. The total cost for the projects is estimated at $2,098,000. The remaining $1.58 million not covered by the grant will be funded through the roads and bridges levy.