Gov. Whitmer announces transportation grants to?villages and small cities

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday announced $3.7 million in road funding grants will be awarded to twenty-five?villages and cities across the state with populations less than 10,000 through?the Transportation Economic Development Fund?(TEDF), Category B?- Villages and Small Cities. 

“Today’s transportation grants will help us fix the damn roads in villages and small cities across Michigan as we continue our economic jumpstart and put people back to work,” said Whitmer. “With these dollars, communities can get started on fixing their roads to meet their most critical infrastructure needs at the local level right now. I look forward to making further investments in our roads and bridges under our Rebuilding Michigan plan and using the influx of federal dollars headed our way under the proposed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to help people get to work, pick their kids up from school, or take the family on a road trip without worrying about blowing a tire or cracking an axle.”

Grant awards range from $34,000 to $250,000 to each community for road resurfacing, culvert replacement, pavement crack sealing, and shoulder paving. The communities set to receive road funding grants include the cities of?Munising, Potterville, Mt. Morris, Reading, East Tawas, Galesburg, Morenci, Ishpeming, Bangor,?and?Ecorse; and the villages of?Sterling, Bellevue, Pigeon,?Pewamo,?Hanover, Cement City, Pinckney, Edmore, Marion, Peck, Akron, Gagetown, Reese, Decatur, and Manchester. For the project list and details, visit www.Michigan.gov/TEDF.

Established by the state Legislature in 2018 and administered by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT),?TEDF, Category B?- Villages and Small Cities?is a stop-gap program to help fund road projects in small communities. Successful projects were selected, in part, because they are paired with planned infrastructure work, coordinated with other road agencies, focused on extending the useful life of the road, and lacked other funding sources.? ????

Enacted in 1987 and reauthorized in 1993, the Transportation Economic Development Fund (TEDF) helps finance highway, road and street projects that are critical to the movement of people and products, and for getting workers to their jobs, materials to growers and manufacturers, and finished goods to consumers. TEDF “Category B,” or the “Community Service Infrastructure Fund,” grants provide $3 million per year through Fiscal Year 2023 to be allocated for road improvements in cities and villages with a population of 10,000 or fewer.