‘Fix the damn funding’ for Macomb County roads and bridges – Macomb Daily

Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel has amended Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s famous “fix the damn roads” mantra.

“It’s not about fixing the damn roads, it’s about fixing the damn funding,” Hackel said Thursday at the Macomb County Road Department’s “State of the Roads” event held at its headquarters on Groesbeck Highway in Mount Clemens.

The list of projects planned for 2025 includes more than $83 million in road, bridge and traffic improvements.

Officials said it would cost more than $2.5 billion to improve every road and bridge in the county that needs repairs.

MCDR uses funding from the Michigan State Act 51 Transportation Fund, the Highway Trust Fund, the Federal Highway Administration, the balance of the MCDR fund, cost-sharing agreements with local government agencies, and the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Macomb County Deputy Executive John Paul Ray said MCDR and county officials are working with state legislators to consider ways to update road funding mechanisms.

“Certainly, whenever we start this conversation, it always starts with the outdated Public Law 51, but we have expanded those conversations to highlight other alternative funding options,” Ray said.

The county has been able to secure federal and state funding for many initiatives, including the three-year Innovate Mound project, which resulted in a major overhaul of Mound Road from Interstate 696 to Hall Road. The county is currently working to secure similar funding for the second phase of the project between Eight Mile Road and Interstate 696.

“With data-driven management, we know how many infrastructure assets we have in Macomb County, what condition they are in and how much funding we need to fix them,” Hackel said. “We will continue to make strategic investments while advocating for additional state and federal resources and applying for the funding needed to repair our roads and bridges.”

Among the 34 projects planned for 2024: reconstruction of 10 Mile Road on the Center Line between Sherwood Avenue and Lorain Avenue and in Warren between Ryan Road and Sherwood Avenue; reconstruction of Garfield Road in Fraser between 14 and 15 Mile Roads; and the reconstruction and widening of Romeo Plank Road between Routes 21 ½ and 23 in Macomb Township.

These projects alone represent an investment of US$40.5 million.

MCDR Director Brian Santo said there are always more roads and bridges in need of repairs than can be planned or funded in one season, but his department is using a systematic approach to determine which roads require the most immediate attention.

“We communicate and coordinate with all of our communities and with our maintenance personnel who go out on the roads every day and tell us which roads are in disrepair and in dire need of repair,” Santo said. “Jobs are pretty much guaranteed here because we have been underfunded for roads in Michigan for decades, so there are a lot of roads that need to be repaired and rebuilt.

“It coordinates with communities and their wants and needs, balanced with the availability of funding.”

Also on the 2025 agenda is to repair 10 bridges across the county to structures that are currently in poor or critical condition. Some bridges will be completely reconstructed, while others will require rehabilitation and preventive maintenance.

Currently, 89% of Macomb County bridges are in fair or good condition; 6% are in serious condition, 11% are in critical condition. Five bridges in critical condition and five spans in poor condition will be repaired over the next two years.

“If we can fix Mound Road to the extent that we did, there is no doubt that we can fix any road project we have here in Macomb County because we have the team and the talent.” to do this,” Hackel said. “There’s not a road problem we don’t know about, but fixing the funding is what helps us fix the roads.”

Updated information on various road projects can be found on the website macombgov.org/roads.