Three communities in Michigan’s Great Southwest will share in nearly a quarter of a million dollars for special road funding in each, thanks to a new Community Service Infrastructure Fund program from the State of Michigan. The grants will be matched with equal amounts bringing the project work to nearly half-a-million bucks.
The Village of Marcellus in Cass County, and the Villages of Bloomingdale and Breedsville in Van Buren join 20 other villages and cities across the state in the new program administered by the Michigan Department of Transportation.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made the announcement this morning regarding the selected communities who will share in the program established by the Michigan Legislature last December as a stop-gap program to help fund road projects in small communities beginning this construction season. To be eligible, each community had to have a population of less than 10,000 people, and the winners were selected, in part, because they are shovel-ready, paired with planned infrastructure work, coordinated with other road agencies, and focused on extending the useful life of the road, while lacking other funding sources.
The Governor says, “This grant is great news for communities across the state that need help getting their roads fixed right now,” adding, “I’m glad we’ve been able to get this new funding out the door quickly so we can get to work meeting some of our most critical infrastructure needs. While this should not be viewed as a solution to our statewide road funding crisis, it will serve as a critical measure of relief for these communities until we implement a real transportation funding solution.”
Grant awards range from $20,000 to $250,000 for road resurfacing, culvert replacement, pavement crack sealing and shoulder paving. The villages and cities to receive road funding grants include:
- St. Louis
- Springfield
- Tustin
- Bronson
- Quincy
- Thompsonville
- Baraga
- Ecorse
- Marcellus
- Bloomingdale
- Coleman
- Springport
- Kaleva
- Montrose
- Sebewaing
- White Cloud
- Hillsdale
- Breedsville
- Maple Rapids
- Mancelona
- Olivet
- North Adams
- Hersey
The Village of Marcellus route includes Maple, Reed, Woodland, Wordon, Jones, Centre, Burney and Dibble Streets in the amount of $46,271.64 with requirement for an equal match bringing the total project cost to just over $92,500.
In Bloomingdale, Miller Road will get the attention with a grant of $154,000 and an equal match for a project cost of $308,000. Breedsville’s East Main Street will be repaired with a $38,337.00 grant and an equal match for a project surpassing $76,600.
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. FY 2020 grant awards will be announced at the end of May. More details about the individual grants and information about the program are available online at www.Michigan.gov/TEDF.
