Milwaukee County Department of Transportation, Transportation Services Division

Milwaukee County DOT Public Way Permit (excavation, driveway/access, occupancy and encroachment on county trunk highways)

MCGO chapter 67 requires a permit from the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) for work in a county public way, which §67.01(1) defines as a county arterial highway designated under §68.01 (the county trunk highways). The county's Permits page lists the triggers, including construction of a driveway or street entrance, closing or revising an existing driveway, and a "change in land use, additions to an existing development, changes in traffic pattern, volumes of an existing driveway or street entrance intersecting a public way" (§67.01(17)), as well as excavation, temporary occupancy, encroachments, storm sewer connections and oversize loads. So a contractor working in a county trunk highway right-of-way needs it, and so does any business that builds, closes or changes a driveway onto a county trunk highway or changes the use of a property served by one, in any of the county's 19 cities and villages. Per the Permits page, only property owners, public and private facility owners or their contractors performing the work may apply. The fees are set by the director of public works under §67.02(1) and (6) and are published as the MCDOT 2026 Permit Fee Rates sheet, linked from the Permits page under the heading "2026 Permit Fee Rates — Effective January 1, 2026". Under §67.02(5) a refund of an unused permit carries a 20% charge with a $20 minimum. Contact MCDOT Transportation Services at 414-257-5910 or permits@milwaukeecountywi.gov.