The Macomb County Department of Roads (MCDR) received three statewide IMPRESS Awards at the 2024 County Road Association (CRA) Highway Conference held March 19-21 in Lansing, Michigan.
The annual CRA IMPRESS Awards recognize county road agencies that demonstrate innovative strategies and tactics on notable projects in the categories of collaboration, communications, and operations.
“The team at the Department of Roads is committed to delivering a safe and efficient transportation system, superior public service and timely information that enhances the traveling experience for all Macomb County road users,” said Macomb County Executive Mark A. Hackel. “Macomb County takes a comprehensive, strategic and mindful approach to enhancing our roadways and community. I’m proud of the work and everything the Department of Roads does to strengthen the connectivity of our region, helping make Macomb County a desirable place to live, work and experience."
CRA received a record number of award submissions this year and an independent panel of communications and operations experts from several of Michigan’s 83 county road agencies judged the IMPRESS Awards submissions.
Award recipients were honored for projects that solved time constraints, labor costs, communication barriers, and fostered collaboration. MCDR received IMPRESS Awards in all three categories.
Collaboration: Innovate Mound funding
MCDR was recognized for the collaborative effort to pursue and secure a $98 million Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant for the transformational Innovate Mound project.
The Mound Road corridor, which serves more than 100,000 motorists per day and is home to more than 70 major employers, had outlived it’s expected road life.
Due to the work required on the road between I-696 and M-59, the project was not economically feasible with county and local funding alone.
Macomb County, the cities of Warren and Sterling Heights, and more than 100 business and community leaders came together to support MCDR’s INFRA grant application for the project, which was selected by the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT).
The $220 million multi-year project broke ground in August of 2021 and opened on time and on budget in December of 2023. Innovate Mound showcased what can be accomplished when multiple levels of government work together to improve their community.
Communications: Macomb Work Zone lane closure and construction notifications
MCDR was presented with a communications award for the Macomb Work Zone, a weekly email that delivers lane closures and construction updates to subscribers. Between state, county, and local projects, there are hundreds of work zones in Macomb County each construction season.
To help all road users navigate construction work in Macomb County, the Macomb Work Zone includes information and resources to keep the public informed and up to date of what's happening on Macomb County roadways.
The email delivers project information including locations, lane closures, detour information, and anticipated timelines for construction operations. The Macomb Work Zone was launched in 2022 with 460 initial subscribers and has grown by more than 450% with more than 2,540 active subscribers to date.
Operations: The technology behind Innovate Mound
MCDR received an award for operations for the visionary technologies that are part of the Innovate Mound project.
To match the level of technology of the manufacturers along the corridor and to prepare for mobility innovations, the Mound Road project includes new capabilities that are forward flexible to the evolving transportation and technology needs of the future, allowing Mound Road to be used as a test bed corridor for new and emerging mobility services.
Another key innovation on the project was the development of a hybrid, wireline and wireless, communications network which includes traffic signals, traffic cameras, and intelligent transportation system (ITS) infrastructure that communicates and relays data directly to MCDR’s Traffic Operations Center (TOC). Macomb County’s advanced traffic signal systems, cameras, and ITS communications network allows MCDR to monitor real-time traffic flow, monitor and manage signal operations in real-time, and monitor and manage emergency responses to incidents on the roadways.
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