REAL ESTATE | Governor Evers salutes new road in Washington County, WI as good for business

March 1, 2022 – West Bend, WI – UPDATE CORRECTION – The road mentioned by Gov. Evers does not serve Milwaukee Tool but only an empty industrial park.

 The completion of Forge Place, new road funded in part by a $250,000 Transportation Economic Assistance (TEA) grant is receiving recognition from Governor Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT).

The road, which had a total project cost of $2.1 million, will provide access to a new Milwaukee Tool manufacturing plant that will create 50 new jobs. 

The announcement manufacturing was returning to West Bend, WI was made January 27, 2020 on WashingtonCountyInsider.com

“It shows we can play with the big boys and start to build back some of that manufacturing we lost over the decades,” said former Dist. 5 alderman Rich Kasten.

“We’ve worked hard over the last three years to fix more than 1,770 miles of highways and more than 1,250 bridges across our state, and the completion of Forge Place will continue to improve and expand Wisconsin’s infrastructure,” said Gov. Evers.

“This is a great example of how we can connect the dots in our state, making strategic investments to bolster our economy and support our communities.”

 Forge Place runs east from the existing South River Road and Rail Way intersection to Milwaukee Tool’s 94,700-square-foot facility. The company’s West Bend manufacturing facility will be expandable up to 185,000 square feet to accommodate future growth. 

“The TEA program is about creating partnerships between the state, local communities to fund rail and road improvements that are needed to create new private capital investment and jobs,” said WisDOT Secretary Craig Thompson. 

Milwaukee Tool is investing $10 million to construct the plant, which will open in spring 2022, and another $12 million in specialized equipment to make hand tools for professional electricians and utility linemen.  

Since the beginning of 2020, Wisconsin’s TEA program has awarded 15 grants totaling $7.1 million to support transportation improvements linked to business development projects that will create 1,367 new jobs and retain more than 700 jobs in Wisconsin.

The TEA program provides financial assistance to communities to support transportation infrastructure improvements that will help attract new employers or encourage existing employers to expand. A municipal or county unit of government must sponsor a TEA application. The project must have the local government’s endorsement, and it must benefit the public.