Michigan is finishing this year strong with its infrastructure development thanks to the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
In October, Governor Gretchen Whitmer said, “Through the end of 2022, we will fix over 16,000 lane miles of road and more than 1,200 bridges, supporting nearly 89,000 jobs."
At the start of 2022, Michigan set a goal for itself: to start a massive maintenance program for its strategic infrastructure and, to be able to complete it within 12 months.
“Thanks to our hard work, we are moving dirt to fix roads and bridges across Michigan at a record pace. With the completion of the projects in Gogebic, Livingston, and Luce counties, Michiganders will have a smoother drive, saving them time and money as they run errands, go to work, or travel,” said Whitmer.
In Gogebic County, 2.7 miles of the US-2 highway were rebuilt, and bridge maintenance projects were completed in Livingstone and in Luce County. According to a statement, 126 jobs were created in the first highway project alone, in addition to making the road safer.
In Livingston County, work focused fixing the Red Cedar River Drain, a bridge built in 1948 and reduced to a dilapidated condition by the weather and lack of previous maintenance. In this case, work began last August 15 and was completed on October 10, four days ahead of schedule.
Michigan has devoted special attention to bridges as part of its infrastructure redevelopment project. The Rebuilding Our Bridges pilot program repaired 19 large bridges and several smaller ones that were reduced to critical condition.
“The United States currently ranks 13th in the world in terms of our infrastructure – which is simply unacceptable. We can and must do more to strengthen and prepare our infrastructure for the 21st century,” said Senator Gary Peters, one of the plan’s supporters, when the plan was announced in March 2022.
Michigan's plan is ambitious: to turn the state into a case history for the whole country, so that the experience and results gained here can be replicated in the rest of America.
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Source: WeBuildValue.com
