On behalf of the 7th Congressional District, I have made the following requests for funding in the 2010 surface transportation authorization bill:
Branch County
Rehabilitate or replace Central Road Bridge over Coldwater River in Branch County, Michigan.
The replacement will sustain the integrity of the transportation system of Branch County allowing any future economic development to remain viable. The structural capacity will be increased to meet Michigan’s current legal Load Capacities, and the bridge and approach roadside barriers will meet current AASHTO Design Guidelines. Central Road Bridge over the Coldwater River is located on an East-West rural major collector route 0.2 miles West of the highest volume North-South rural major collector route under Branch County Road Commission jurisdiction. Therefore, the replacement of this structure is necessary to maintain the integrity of the Branch County Road Network.
Requested amount is $480,000.
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Rehabilitate or replace South Angola Road Bridge over Coldwater River in Branch County, Michigan.
The South Angola Road Bridge over the Coldwater River is located on the highest volume North-South rural major collector route under the jurisdiction of the Branch County Road Commission. Therefore, the replacement of this structure is necessary to maintain the integrity of the Branch County Road network. The replacement will sustain the integrity of the transportation system of Branch County allowing any future economic development to remain viable. The structural capacity will be increased to meet Michigan’s current legal Load Capacities, and the bridge and approach roadside barriers will meet current AASHTO Design Guidelines.
Requested amount is $656,000.
Calhoun County
Plan, design, and construct a new Downtown Transfer Station for public transit users in the Battle Creek, Michigan area, including engineering and design work, conducting environmental assessments, property acquisition, and construction.
This project will provide a safe, off-street facility, for bus riders to transfer to other buses. It will also help to clean up the proposed site, resulting in a safer environment for bus riders, employees, and other residents in the area. This project will compliment economic development efforts currently underway in the Battle Creek downtown area. It will support and enhance businesses and social services in the immediate area of the new facility.
Battle Creek Transit provides approximately 2,000 daily passenger trips to area residents. Many of these bus riders depend upon the city buses for their only means of transportation. This facility will provide closer access to governmental and social services for many bus riders.
Requested amount is $1,600,000.
Eaton County
Engineer, plan, design, and reconstruct 1.3 miles of Five Point Highway from the bridge over the Battle Creek River to the bridge over I-69, including bridge, causeway, and viaduct replacement and construction, right of way acquisition, drain relocation, installation of bicycle lanes, environmental review, and construction of wetland and floodplain mitigation and protection measures in Eaton County, Michigan.
Due to the seasonal and frequent road flooding, poor pavement condition, and unprotected water hazards and wetlands on both sides of the road, this is an area of safety concern. Frequent intermittent road closures from flooding make route planning difficult for commercial, industrial, or agricultural shipments. Reconstructing the roadway will provide dependable agricultural and commercial shipments and deliveries. When the road is closed during flooding, the shortest detour around this section of road on other primary paved roads is 6 miles.
Requested amount is $3,120,000.
Jackson County
Improve the I-94 corridor from M-60 through Sargent Road by undertaking rehabilitation, expansion, and reconstruction work at I-94 at Elm Road interchange and I-94 at Sargent Road, and by designing, engineering, acquiring rights-of-way, and reconstructing at the I-94 and US-127 interchange.
I-94 is a major commercial corridor in the State, serving national and international commerce. The Elm Street structure has been struck by trucks at least 10 times during the past three years. There is an emergency beam replacement project planned for the fall of 2009 to replace a beam that has been compromised by high load impacts. Additionally, the reconstruction projects would improve operations and safety at all of the interchanges in the respective project areas by upgrading the outdated facilities to current design standards. The shoulders on the freeway would be expanded in both width and durability to provide improved mobility during freeway incidents and construction activities.
Requested amount is $ 48,000,000.
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Passenger Rail Car Maintenance and Repair Yard in Jackson, Michigan. This project is part of the State of Michigan’s and local communities’ effort to introduce commuter rail on two routes between Ann Arbor and Detroit and Ann Arbor and Howell initially, and then expand the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail service westward to include Jackson and the Ann Arbor-Howell commuter rail service south to include Jackson. This maintenance facility would be used for 30, 90, 180 day and annual inspections and maintenance work for the coaches and locomotives operating for these two services.
The Midwest Regional Rail Initiative estimates that Michigan’s proposed commuter rail network would yield $23.1 billion in economic benefits to users and communities over the 40-year life of the project. Proper maintenance of the passenger cars and locomotives used to provide commuter rail service is essential to passenger safety. A properly designed and implemented comprehensive transit system will allow the entire transportation system to function better, resulting in less congestion, fuel consumption, and air pollution.
Requested amount is $600,000.
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Retrofit Historic Jackson Michigan train station as an inter-modal facility to accommodate passenger rail, public transit and taxi operations.
Adaptable redevelopment of the train station will provide additional space for commercial, retail, and office development. This will provide a catalyst for the eventual redevelopment of the City of Jackson's East Central Business District Neighborhood. Expand the operating hours and the security of the facility, which houses the various modes of public transportation available to the residents in the greater Jackson area. The design of passenger flow will be attentive to safety and the updated facility will be ADA compliant.
Requested Amount is $10,160,000.
Hillsdale County
Reconstruct Litchfield Road from the Branch County Line to US-12 and St. Joseph Street in the city of Litchfield for a total length of approximately 14.55 miles.
A reconstructed roadway with smooth pavement, properly super-elevated curves, wider shoulders and guardrail will make for a much safer roadway and reduce crashes. The project would improve commercial truck access to the northwest corner of our county and serve the city of Litchfield’s industrial park.
Requested amount is $7,200,000.
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Reconstruct North Adams Road from Village of Jonesville to US-127 for a total length of 13.94 miles.
A reconstructed roadway with smooth pavement, properly super-elevated curves, wider shoulders and guardrail will make for a much safer roadway and reduce crashes. The project would improve commercial truck access to the northeast corner of our county and connect several villages with direct truck route access. The proposed project would improve the roadway to all-season status so that commercial truck traffic could travel the road the year around without having frost laws in the spring. This proposed all-season roadway would bisect a region where there are no east-west all-season roads for 14 miles.
Requested amount is $7,200,000.
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Reconstruct West Reading Road and West Elm Street from the Branch County Line to M-49 for a total length of approximately 4.21 miles.
A reconstructed roadway with smooth pavement, properly super-elevated curves, wider shoulders and guardrail will make for a much safer roadway and reduce crashes. The project would improve commercial truck access in the southwest corner of our county and provide area farmers with all-season access to The Andersons grain facility in Reading. The proposed project should improve mobility in the southwest corner of our county. The proposed project would improve the roadway to all-season status so that commercial truck traffic could travel the road the year around without having frost laws in the spring.
Requested amount is $2,400,000.
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Reconstruct Waldron Road from M-34 to US-12 for a total length of approximately 14 miles.
Given the current poor road conditions, most commercial traffic avoids Waldron Road. The project would improve commercial truck access to the northeast corner of our county. Given the current poor road conditions, most commercial traffic avoids Waldron Road. The project would improve commercial truck access to the northeast corner of our county. Reconstruction would allow traffic to return to this road, which is currently rough, uneven and in poor condition. There are several dips and settlement areas that could cause motorists to lose control.
Requested amount is $6,400,000.
Lenawee County
Boysville of Michigan seeks funding to support the continued upgrade and replacement of the agency's fleet of vehicles to maintain compliance with federal and state safety guidelines. Funds sought will also support maintenance of the fleet.
Funding allows Boysville to continue to keep its fleet of vehicles, used to assist in the transportation of over 2,600 youth annually and approximately 1,000 weekly, upgraded and to completely eliminate the use of 15 passenger vans, which is mandated by federal and state requirements. Boysville will emphasize the purchase of fuel efficient hybrid vehicles whenever possible, making certain to identify all probable uses and assembling the fleet according to those projections (i.e. smaller fuel efficient vehicles for court transportation).
Requested amount is $1,920,000.
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Reconstruct or replace East Main Street Bridge in the City of Morenci, Michigan approximately 400 feet west of Weston Road, including engineering, plan, design, environmental review, right-of-way acquisition, and construction.
The economic impact of the structure is significant. Many businesses are located just east of the structure. With the majority of the city population living west of the bridge, the closure of the bridge would have a serious economic impact on those businesses. The condition of the bridge is hazardous and requires constant inspection and repair to insure the safety of those who use the facility. In April 2009, the bridge was posted at 15 tons fora one-unit truck, 17 tons fora two-unit truck, and 27 tons for a three-unit truck. If the structure were closed, the minimum alternative route available for local cars and pedestrians would be a three-mile detour using the local street system. To provide a detour for truck traffic, it would require a 23-mile detour.
Requested amount is $572,000.
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The redesign of Siena Heights Drive in Adrian, Michigan will do more to protect both pedestrians and vehicles. Overall road width will be reduced and on-street parking would be eliminated. The changes will allow for more clear and specific pedestrian crossings which result in efficiencies, and will permit the thoughtful construction of crossings that are attentive to needs of those in the community who are handicapped.
Immediately, the project will put local contractors and sub-contractors to work. Upon completion, the re-invented drive is believed to allow for increased success in recruiting and retention as is will create a cohesive and unified campus, which ultimately translates into increased faculty and staff jobs, which in turn help spur local spending. Re-adjusting the road width will visually assist in keeping speeds at posted speeds and allowing drivers to better understand that there exists heavy pedestrian use. The elimination of on-street parking will permit pedestrians to be viewed in plain sight when crossing the drive and increased, uniform lighting will allow for pedestrians to be seen at all times.
Requested amount is $907,176.
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Reconstruct Sutton Road from Rogers Highway East to Ridge Highway in Lenawee County, Michigan.
The completed road will improve response times of Fire Equipment and EMS to local residents. A smoother road will reduce further injury if the patient is being transported via ambulance for a spinal condition, and enable school buses to stop and load/unload the children in a safer manner. When completed this road will accommodate a greater amount of traffic, will decrease the amount of time it takes to traverse the section of road and reduce the risk of an accident. Re-classing this road to a primary road will increase truck traffic, bringing development to the area and increasing revenue to the area.
Requested amount is $844,800.
Washtenaw County
The Ann Arbor – Detroit Commuter Rail project will provide rapid transit rail service along a 55-mile corridor in SE Michigan. This project will extend the passenger service 35-miles westward serving the greater Chelsea and Jackson communities. This will include: construct, plan, design, engineer, conduct an environmental review, acquire right of way, conduct alternative analysis, implement, rehabilitate, and mitigate.
Additional trains departing daily from the Jackson station will assist in stimulating commercial and residential development at and adjacent to the station and the surrounding neighborhoods. This service will provide commuters an alternate, reliable source of transportation to employment centers in southeast Michigan. The provision of this service may alleviate the need for future widening of the I-94 corridor and reduce existing congestion and vehicle emissions.
Requested amount is $20,000,000.
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Design, engineer, and reconstruct bridge/overpass, roundabouts and non-motorized mobility for the existing interchange of US-23 and North Territorial to address traffic congestion, safety and economic development at that interchange and its vicinity.
The design is eco-friendly with the smallest footprint possible minimizing the water runoff and impact to wetlands while moving the greatest volume of traffic. The roundabout design saves on fossil fuels and emissions providing constant movement opposed to traffic sitting idle at signal lights. The project would also address the safety issues that abound in that
interchange as well as provide for less fossil fuel emissions by
reducing idling time for vehicular traffic.
Requested amount is $20,800,000.
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People’s Express is a Public, Coordinated Transportation non-profit agency applying for an Administration and Vehicle Maintenance Building. The transportation facility will house People’s Express Staff and vehicles; including in house maintenance. The administration facility will create a self sufficient more effective mobility center.
People’s Express provides essential or lifeline services to residents of Washtenaw, Livingston, and Oakland Counties. It provides access to jobs and medical services, as well as life support trips. This facility will provide a central location for the countywide Mobility Management Manager for Washtenaw County and bordering counties of Livingston and Oakland. Transfer stop will be implemented for Livingston buses to transfer rides destined for University of Michigan Hospital and area. Will bring jobs for construction, electricians, roofers, cement layers etc. to build facility or retrofit. When complete will provide jobs for more drivers, maintenance staff and office staff.
Requested amount is $1,600,000.
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Covering the segment of US-12 from N. Harris St. to N. Lewis St. and on N. & S. Ann Arbor St. from E. Henry St. to E. McKay St. Including the design, planning, and reconstruction of downtown streetscape and pedestrian crosswalks.
This improvement will increase foot traffic in the downtown and help to revitalize the downtown businesses and the local economy. This improvement will provide a safer and more pedestrian friendly environment including the addition of safer crosswalks.
Requested amount is $1,520,000.
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Conduct alternatives analysis, plan, design, complete environmental review, construct and rehabilitate for extension of WALLY commuter rail service on an existing rail line between City of Ann Arbor, MI and City of Saline, MI.
This service when implemented will provide jobs to the operators as well as improve access to jobs Ann Arbor, Pittsfield Township, and Saline. The improved transportation options will allow for the redevelopment of the Ford plant and the Industrial park in Saline. This service when implemented will provide a safe alternative to driving a single auto through the congested State Street corridor that has a high number of rear end traffic crashes due to congestion. The City of Saline currently has no fixed route transit or commuter service which limits access to the major medical facilities and specialty medical providers in the City of Ann Arbor. This service will provide improved access for those who reside in the City of Saline, Saline Township and Pittsfield Township.
Requested amount is $5,000,000.
