Molly BeckRick Barrett
MADISON - Federal transportation officials are freezing funding for a program in Wisconsin that pays for the installation of new electric vehicle charging stations across the state, according to correspondence to Wisconsin state officials obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
In a memo dated Thursday, officials with the Federal Highway Administration said they were suspending the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, which funds new charging stations along interstates in Wisconsin. Any plans approved under former President Joe Biden are suspended until new guidance is issued by the department later this spring, according to the letter to state transportation officials.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers called the move a "foolish" decision.
“I’m hearing every day from Wisconsinites who are worried about the Trump Administration raising costs from groceries to gas and jeopardizing everything from Head Start for kids, programs like Medicaid that help over a million people in our state, and even the basic security of confidential information like personal Social Security numbers," Evers said in a statement.
“The Trump Administration is messing around with Wisconsinites’ lives and livelihoods — these reckless and shortsighted actions have to stop.”
The funding freeze comes after federal transportation officials for three years approved state plans to construct a constellation of charging stations across Wisconsin.
This week's announcement by the U.S. DOT, which is overseen by former Wisconsin congressman Sean Duffy, also comes two years after Evers signed into law a Republican-authored bill that allowed the state to receive the federal funds that are now frozen.
The suspension of the federal program could jeopardize nearly $7 million in funding for 15 projects that had previously been approved, according to the Evers administration. Wisconsin planned to award about $22 million in funds for 53 projects, according to the administration.
Less than two weeks ago, The City of Milwaukee and La Crosse-based Kwik Trip stores, both recipients of federal grants to install EV charging stations, said they were moving ahead with those plans despite uncertainty about the Trump administration's decisions.
Milwaukee said it would install more than 50 stations between 2026 and 2030.
Friday, city officials said they have a signed contract with the Federal Highway Administration for their project totaling $18.7 million, including $15 million in federal funding. That contract was issued under former President Joe Biden's administration.
“We have access to around $1 million for engineering and planning,” Erick Shambarger, the city's director of Environmental Sustainability, said in an email shared with the Journal Sentinel.
Construction was not likely to start until 2026.
“We expect to complete the engineering work in 2025, and we further expect the federal government to honor its obligations for 2026 and beyond,” Shambarger said.
“My plan is to continue to move forward in selecting an engineering firm on this project and continue our planning on where the stations would be located. Hopefully, by the time that work is completed, we will have better guidance on how to proceed with the construction,” he added.
Kwik Trip had said it would have the chargers at 24 of its Wisconsin stores by the end of 2025. Last May it was awarded nearly $5.8 million from the government, representing around two-thirds of the project's cost.
Friday, Kwik Trip said it was trying to understand how the suspension of the federal funding would affect its grants. The company said it was in discussions with Wisconsin Department of Transportation officials and others.
"We're trying to get some clarification so that we fully understand what this new memo means," said company spokesman Bob Leibl.
Should the grant money disappear, it's still unknown whether Kwik Trip would install the charging stations.
"That's something we are still discussing internally," Leibl said.
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