Evers touts transportation, apprenticeship in his final State of the State Address

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In his final state address, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers highlighted record-breaking apprenticeship levels and nearly $600 million in transportation funding this year.

Evers on Tuesday spoke to members of the Legislature, constituents and stakeholders at the Wisconsin State Capitol and delivered his final State of the State Address. The governor won’t be seeking a third term which opens a governor’s race with a crowded Democratic field and one Republican candidate.

“Folks, I know many of you are up for election, but here’s the deal: after years of delivering historic, bipartisan wins for our state, Wisconsinites have high expectations for the work we can do together over the next 10 months,” Evers said in his address.

A $2.5 billion budget surplus hands in the balance for Wisconsin, which Evers and lawmakers have been discussing for the past two weeks on how to use it.

Some of the governor’s actions that affected Wisconsin construction included improving and repairing more than 9,600 miles of roads and more than 2,400 bridges across the state, enrolling record apprentices and directing nearly $600 million in funding to local road construction partners through bipartisan means.

“When I took over, our transportation fund was on the brink of insolvency. For years, the state spent money that was meant to improve our infrastructure on other things, leaving our roads and bridges in disrepair. I made a promise to Wisconsinites that I’d work to fix the darn roads,” Evers said.

In July 2025, state officials announced a one-time general transportation fund transfer of $565 million for major highway programs across the state. The 2025-27 budget also included approval to reconstruct Interstate 39/90/94 between Madison and Milwaukee Dells, initial funding for the I-94 East-West project in Milwaukee County and a $92.5 million increase for the state’s Design/Build program.

During his second term, the governor helped create an agricultural roads program administered by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to move farm products through local rural roads, Evers said. The program supported more than 90 projects across 48 counties, he added.

Evers said his administration helped more than 127,000 Wisconsin workers achieve career and skills training through state investments. The state saw record-low unemployment and the highest ever enrollment in youth and registered apprenticeship programs in state history for four years in a row, he added.

The state Registered Apprenticeship program set a new record high of 18,524 apprentices enrolled and more than 3,095 employers participating in the program in 2025, governor’s officials said.

The Evers administration also launched several workforce development programs; two registered apprenticeship pathways in healthcare and education, an employer grant program to train participants in advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence and funding the Ignite Wisconsin program to invest in startups.

The governor also addressed the demand for housing construction.

“And a key part of our work to support working families, strengthen our communities, and grow our state’s workforce has been ensuring folks have the housing they need in the communities they work in,” Evers said.

Under the administration, the state passed its largest investment in workforce housing in Wisconsin history. Evers said his administration supported more than 30,000 new housing units statewide.

The state also used federal funding to connect 410,000 homes and businesses across the state to connect with new and improved broadband internet, Evers added.

“Since taking office in 2019, Gov. Evers has prioritized workforce challenges that our state has faced for generations. He has championed the rebuilding of our infrastructure, implementing common sense policies that created family-supporting jobs, spurring economic development, and positioning Wisconsin for future success,” Stephanie Bloomingdale, president of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, said in a statement.