82.08(4)(4) Emergency petition. Whenever the construction or repair of any bridge or culvert must be made without delay, the town board may file its petition with the county clerk and the county highway committee, explaining the necessity for immediate construction or repairs. It shall then be the duty of the town board and the county highway committee to construct or repair the bridge or culvert as soon as practicable. The construction or repair of a bridge or culvert undertaken pursuant to this subsection shall entitle the town to the same county aid that the town would have been entitled to had it filed its petition with the county board as provided in sub. (1).

82.08(5)(a)(a) Except as provided under par. (b), the county highway committee and the town board shall have full charge of design, sizing, letting, inspecting, and accepting the construction or repair, but the town board may leave the matter entirely in the hands of the county highway committee. The county highway committee and the town board must agree on the cost of the project and must consult each other during construction.

82.08(5)(b)(b) For a project receiving funds under s. 84.18, supervision and control of construction of the project shall be as provided under s. 84.18 (6).

82.08(6)(6) Construction requirements. No county order may be drawn under sub. (2) for the construction of a bridge or culvert unless the design and construction comply with requirements under s. 84.01 (23).

82.08(7)(7) No tax. Except as provided in ss. 61.48 and 84.14 (3), nothing contained in this section shall authorize the levy of a tax upon the property in any city or village that is required to maintain its own bridges.

82.08(8)(8) Administration charge. The county may charge the towns that apply for aid under this section an administration charge. The administration charge shall be fixed as a percentage of the total costs of administering aid under this section and the percentage shall be no more than the percentage that the county charges the state for records and reports.

82.08 AnnotationThe county is obligated to pay its half of the cost of construction or repair of a bridge even if the final cost exceeds the amount the town requested in the petition. An estimate is sufficient in a petition for aid. Costs need not be determined exactly. Town of Grand Chute v. Outagamie County, 2004 WI App 35, 269 Wis. 2d 657, 676 N.W.2d 540, 03-1897.

82.08 AnnotationThe bridge at issue in this case was not a “bridge on a highway maintainable by the town” under s. 81.38 [now this section] because the bridge aid petition did not request funding to help connect the bridge to a highway maintainable by the town, there was no existing highway extending to the planned bridge site at the time of the petition, and the bridge was not connected to a highway maintainable by the town upon completion. Section 81.38 requires funding for only those bridges built on highways in existence at the time of a bridge’s construction. Town of Madison v. County of Dane, 2008 WI 83, 311 Wis. 2d 402, 752 N.W.2d 260, 06-2554.

82.08 AnnotationAlthough a 2003 act changed the phrase “highway maintainable” to “highway maintained,” this amendment did not change the substantive meaning of the statute. Town of Madison v. County of Dane, 2008 WI 83, 311 Wis. 2d 402, 752 N.W.2d 260, 06-2554.

82.0982.09 County aid for dams used for bridges. A town board may file a petition with the county board stating that the town board has voted to acquire the right to use a roadway on a dam. The petition shall contain a legal description and scale map of the dam and roadway, and shall state the amount agreed to be paid to the owner for the use of the roadway. Upon receipt of a petition, the county board shall appropriate a sum equal to 50 percent of the amount agreed to be paid for the use. The county board shall, on the order of the chairperson of the county board and county clerk, cause such sum to be paid to the treasurer of the town whenever the town board notifies the county highway commissioner that a contract for the use of the roadway has been executed.

82.1082.10 Initiation of procedures.

82.10(1)(1) Application for highway changes. Six or more resident freeholders may apply to the town board to have a highway laid out, altered, or discontinued. The application shall be in writing and shall be delivered to the town clerk. The application shall contain all of the following:

82.10(2)(2) Resolution. Notwithstanding sub. (1), the town board may initiate the process of laying out, altering, or discontinuing a town highway by the introduction of a resolution. The resolution shall contain all of the following:

82.10(3)(3) Notice requirements. Upon receipt of an application under sub. (1) or the introduction of a resolution under sub. (2), the board shall provide notice of the time that and the place where it will meet to consider the application or resolution. The notice shall contain a legal description of the highway to be discontinued or of the proposed highway to be laid out or altered and a scale map of the land that would be affected by the application or resolution.

82.10(4)(a)(a) The town board or, at the town board’s direction, the applicants shall publish a class 3 notice under ch. 985 and shall, at least 30 days before the hearing, give notice by registered mail to all of the following: