REBUILDING MICHIGAN

A big project to rebuild a busy portion of I-696 in Oakland County next year is ramping up, and you’ll notice it.

The I-94/US-31 connector Rebuilding Michigan project will connect U.S. 31 to Interstate 94, rebuild I-94 Business Loop (BL) (Main Street) and the I-196/I-94 interchange, and rebuild I-94 between Britain Avenue and I-196. Starting Friday, April 15, the eastbound I-94 ramps to northbound I-196, and from southbound I-196 to eastbound I-94, will be closed and detoured. The eastbound I-94 ramp to northbound I-196 will be detoured on eastbound I-94 to M-140 Watervliet Exit 41, then back onto westbound I-94 to northbound I-196. The southbound I-196 ramp to eastbound I-94 will be detoured from southbound I-196 to Red Arrow Highway Exit 1, east to M-140, then south to I-94. Gretchen Whitmer’s Rebuilding Michigan program to rebuild the state highways and bridges that are critical to the state’s economy and carry the most traffic.

The Michigan Department of Transportation has a list of tips on how to avoid damage to your vehicle. As you approach a pothole MDOT suggests slowing down, then releasing the brakes before you hit the pothole. If you spot a pothole on a state trunkline (I, M or US route), submit it to MDOT’s Report a Pothole webpage or call the Pothole Hotline at 888-296-4546. For drivers who sustained damage from a pothole on a state trunkline there is a separate damage claim procedure and form. If your alleged damage claim is $1,000 or more, you can recover damages only by filing a lawsuit against MDOT.

If you use I-275 in Metro Detroit, you’re going to want to take note -- a massive construction project is kicking off this summer, and it’ll continue through 2024.

LAPEER COUNTY - The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has announced the resurfacing of Interstate 69 in Lapeer County as part of Gov. The $28 million investment will be used to resurface 8.3 miles of eastbound and westbound I-69 from Newark Road to the St. Clair County line. The construction project will include significant hot-mix asphalt resurfacing with a new crack resistant base layer. Although data hasn’t been updated since 2019, Hall said over 27,000 vehicles a day travel the I-69 corridor where the resurfacing will take place. Hall assures that traffic will maintain in both directions for the entirety of the project.

Gretchen Whitmer revealed a new tool Michiganders can use to track road projects as construction continues throughout the state. “As we continue to invest in better roads and bridges under the Rebuilding Michigan program, this new dashboard will be important to ensure our efforts to fix the damn roads remain on time and on budget,” Whitmer said. “The Rebuilding Michigan plan is financed without an increase at the gas pump, and it’ll help jumpstart our economy by creating thousands of good-paying construction jobs. It allows MDOT to sell $3.5 billion in bonds to finance dozens of new and modified road construction projects, while accelerating many others, the state said. “The Rebuilding Michigan Program allows MDOT to completely rebuild some important freeways that we otherwise could only afford to resurface,” MDOT Director Paul C. Ajegba said.

The Michigan governor announced a list of 21 state highway road construction projects Tuesday that are planned for the 2021 season through the Rebuilding Michigan bonding program. Gretchen Whitmer’s office said these road projects (listed below) are a blend of those previously funded through the Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) budget as well as several supported by the Rebuilding Michigan bonding program. The Rebuilding Michigan program was made possible when the State Transportation Commission (STC) in January 2020 authorized MDOT to issue $3.5 billion in bonds over four years to finance infrastructure improvements, under authority granted by the Michigan Constitution and Public Act 51 of 1951. “MDOT’s 2021 program includes rebuilding and resurfacing roughly 920 lane miles of state highways and freeways, and performing preventative maintenance on another 830 lane miles throughout Michigan,” said State Transportation Director Paul C. Ajegba. AdSo, in a month where we can have ten inches of snow and three inches of rain in a three-week span, potholes are thriving on Michigan roads.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer held a media roundtable Thursday morning to offer an update on her “Rebuilding Michigan” plan that she discussed in her 2020 State of the State address. On Wednesday night, Whitmer announced that Michigan will borrow $3.5 billion to rebuild the state’s deteriorating roads and bridges over a five-year period. This is after the Republican-led Legislature rejected her proposed gasoline tax hike. On Thursday, the State Transportation Commission authorized the sale of $3.5 billion in road and bridge-building bonds. Read more: Whitmer: ‘No more waiting’; Michigan to borrow $3.5B for roads

The Democrat unveiled the bonding plan during her second annual State of the State speech to lawmakers. The funds would not be used to repair local roads. No more waiting around to fix our roads, Whitmer said during her address at the Capitol. Michigan roads are the most beat up and dangerous in the country, she told legislators. The new bonding will not address local roads, unlike under her 2019 proposal, which would have pumped $1.4 billion more into state roads and an additional $400 million into local roads than under current law.