MDOT to Invest $42 Million in 2012 Bay Region Program

The Michigan Department of Transportation's (MDOT) 2012-2016 Five Year Transportation Program will bring $42 million in transportation improvements to the Bay Region this year. The improvements include $16.6 million in road and bridge investments and $13.8 million in preventative maintenance projects that will keep a significant number of roads and bridges in good condition through minor repair work.

The MDOT Bay Region includes 13 counties in the Saginaw Bay area: Arenac, Bay, Clare, Genesee, Gladwin, Gratiot, Huron, Isabella, Lapeer, Midland, Saginaw, Sanilac and Tuscola. Major state trunklines in the region include: I-75, I-69, US-127, US-23 and Us-10. These highways are primary tourism and international trade routes that serve industrial centers within the Flint area and the Great Lake Bay Region (Saginaw, Bay and Midland counties), along with the Mt. Pleasant and thumb areas.

Major Bay Region projects planned in the area for 2012 include:

• I-475, Genesee County, repair work under Third and Kearsley Streets, and under eastbound and westbound Robert T. Longway Boulevard, including bridge work and sound wall repairs.
• M-57, Genesee County, road and bridge work from Brent Run Creek to Linden Road
• I-69, Lapeer County, repairing westbound lanes from M-24 east to the Lapeer/St.Clair County line and on M-53 under I-69 from the eastbound on ramp to the westbound off ramp.

While I-75 will see significantly less work in the Bay Region this year, there is one substantial project scheduled in Arenac County. The two-year $75 million project on the Zilwaukee Bridge previously planned for this year has been deferred to 2013.

MDOT will also continue ongoing investment in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) during 2012 in the Bay Region. Electronic signs, cameras and detectors are currently being installed along I-75 from Auburn Hills to Grayling. Information from these devices will be used to update motorists in real-time on the road and on MDOT's popular Mi Drive traffic information website, www.michigan.gov/drive. MDOT expects to have I-75 ITS message boards displaying real time information, along with current construction and incident reports by December.