86.31(1)(a)(a) “County highway improvement program district” means a group of counties established by the department by rule under sub. (6) (f).

86.31(1)(am)(am) “County highway improvement program district committee” means a committee established by the department by rule under sub. (6) (f) consisting of all of the county highway commissioners from counties within a county highway improvement program district.

86.31(1)(ao)(ao) “Eligible agricultural road project” means a project that is eligible for a grant under sub. (3o) (b).

86.31(1)(ar)(ar) “Entitlement” means the amount of aid made available under sub. (3) for reimbursement within a county for the components specified in sub. (3) (a) 1. to 3.

86.31(1)(b)(b) “Improvement” means a highway construction project with a projected design life of at least 10 years or a feasibility study of a highway construction project with a projected design life of at least 10 years.

86.31(1)(c)(c) “Local roads” means county trunk highways, town roads, or streets under the authority of cities or villages.

86.31(1)(d)(d) “Political subdivision” means a county, city, village or town.

86.31(1)(e)(e) “Program” means the local roads improvement program.

86.31(1)(f)(f) “Street” has the meaning given in s. 340.01 (64).

86.31(2)(a)(a) The department shall administer a local roads improvement program to accelerate the improvement of seriously deteriorating local roads and, under sub. (3o), of agricultural roads improvements by reimbursing political subdivisions for improvements. The selection of improvements that may be funded under the program shall be performed by officials of each political subdivision, consistent with par. (h) and the requirements of subs. (3), (3g), (3m), (3o), and (3r). The department shall notify each county highway commissioner of any deadline that affects eligibility for reimbursement under the program no later than 15 days before such deadline.

86.31(2)(b)(b) Except as provided in par. (d), improvements for highway construction projects funded under the program shall be under contracts. Such contracts shall be awarded on the basis of competitive bids and shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. If a city or village does not receive a responsible bid for an improvement, the city or village may contract with a county for the improvement. Subject to s. 59.52 (30), a town may contract with a county for the improvement subject to the criteria and procedures promulgated as rules under sub. (6) (h).

86.31(2)(c)(c) Improvements consisting of feasibility studies funded under the program may be performed by political subdivisions or the department of transportation, including the making and execution of all contracts.

86.31(2)(d)(d) County trunk highway improvements funded under the program, including the hauling and laying of asphaltic hot mix, may be performed by county highway departments, subject to the following restrictions:

86.31(2)(d)1m.1m. The county highway department demonstrates that it is cost-effective for it to perform the work and that competitive bidding is to be used for improvements with an estimated total cost at least equal to the total funds allocated for its county trunk highway improvements under the program during the current biennium.

86.31(2)(d)5.5. Each county highway improvement program district committee shall do all of the following with respect to any work to be performed by any county highway department within the county highway improvement program district:

86.31(2)(d)5.a.a. Review the proposed work and determine that it is cost-effective for the county highway department to perform the work.

86.31(2)(e)(e) The department of transportation may not require as a condition of reimbursement that the design and construction of any improvement with eligible costs totaling $65,000 or less be certified by a registered professional engineer.

86.31(2)(h)(h) A double seal coat project on a town road may be funded under the program if it has a projected life of at least 10 years, similar projects in the same geographic area have performed satisfactorily, and the county highway commissioner of the county in which the project is located approves the project’s eligibility for funding.

86.31(3)(a)(a) Funds provided under s. 20.395 (2) (fr) shall be distributed under this subsection. For purposes of entitlement, the program shall consist of the following components: