Jan. 20, 2026
by TIM HUNDT
VIROQUA, Wis. — After a search lasting more than a year Vernon County officials say they have hired a dedicated highway engineer to navigate a growing infrastructure issues involving dozens of deteriorating bridges and complex state funding requirements.
Highway Commissioner Phil Hewitt updated the Infrastructure Committee on Jan. 13 regarding the position which was created in the 2025 budget but had remained vacant due to a difficult recruitment environment.
The arrival of a professional engineer comes at a critical moment for the Highway Department. Hewitt reported that state inspectors recently flagged 31 local structures shorter than 20 feet as insufficient giving them a safety rating of three or lower on a ten point scale. This designation has forced the county to recommend that townships post five ton weight limits or close the roads entirely.
Hewitt explained that the new engineer will immediately begin prioritizing these 31 failing structures to determine which need replacement first based on traffic volume. The engineer will also be able to perform load ratings which could technically allow the county to remove restrictive weight limit signs on bridges that are still structurally capable of handling traffic despite their age.
“Some of them, you can get by with just posting at five ton, but eventually you’re gonna have to do something,” said Hewitt. “They’re insufficient, they’re rated threes. That means they’re structurally unsound.”
The role of the engineer is also central to the county’s financial liability and relationship with local townships. The county manages a bridge aid program that splits the cost of bridge replacements with towns 50/50. However Hewitt expressed concern about authorizing repairs without an engineer’s stamp of approval particularly if a town wants to save money by installing a smaller culvert than what was previously there.
“If I let you put in a six foot culvert where there was once a 20 foot or 18 foot box, and it washes out and takes out three sections of road down below it, am I on the hook?” said Hewitt. “Because I help pay for half of it.”
The engineer will also assist townships in applying for a new $30 million state grant program targeting these specific small bridges. Hewitt noted that the application process is complicated and having an in-house engineer to handle hydrology and hydraulic studies will make Vernon County projects more competitive.
“They need to start the ball rolling and get their stuff kind of organized, because it’s going to be a hot ticket to try to get a piece of this 30 million on this first go around,” said Hewitt.
Beyond bridges the engineer will be tasked with designing safety solutions for hazardous roadways. During a Highway Safety Committee meeting on Jan. 7 Hewitt noted he planned to utilize the engineer to design a fix for Runge Hollow Hill on County Road Y. This steep curve has been the site of numerous accidents involving horse-drawn buggies sliding off the road.
“We’re gonna look at some different spots,” said Hewitt. “If I get my trusted engineer on board, we’re gonna try to design something for that.”
The hiring process was a collaborative effort between the Highway Department and Human Resources. During the General Government Committee meeting on Jan. 7 Human Resources Director Trisha Lepke expressed relief that the long search was coming to an end.
The position was originally funded in the 2025 budget by eliminating a patrol supervisor position through attrition allowing the department to upgrade the role to an Assistant Commissioner and Engineer without a significant levy impact.
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