Assembly Bill 439 proposes amendments to the eligibility criteria for the agricultural roads improvement program (ARIP) administered by the Department of Transportation in Wisconsin. Currently, highways must demonstrate insufficiency for agricultural traffic by either being designated as a class B highway due to structural deficiencies or having a posted weight limitation for at least one month in the previous year. The bill seeks to renumber and amend the existing statute to clarify these criteria and introduces a new option for demonstrating insufficiency.

Specifically, the bill adds a provision that allows an engineering analysis conducted by a registered professional engineer to serve as evidence that a highway cannot accommodate heavy agricultural traffic. This change aims to provide more flexibility in assessing highway conditions and ensuring that agricultural roads are adequately improved to support agricultural activities.