August 18, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 18, 2025
Contact: press@michigan.gov
Governor Whitmer Continues to Fix the Damn Roads with a Project Starting This Week in Kent County
LANSING, Mich.—Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced that the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will begin a road repair project this week in Kent County. This project is expected to invest over $4 million and directly or indirectly support over 38 good-paying jobs. The governor reiterated the need to pass a long-term road funding solution that will fix the damn roads and support good-paying jobs in communities across Michigan.
“Across Michigan, we are moving dirt and fixing the damn roads to grow our economy, lower the cost of auto repairs, improve motorist safety, and create good-paying jobs that don’t require a college degree,” said Governor Whitmer. “By the end of this construction season, we will have fixed, repaired, or replaced nearly 24,500 lane miles of roads and 1,900 bridges. But our work is not done, and thousands of good-paying jobs are at stake if we don’t get a long-term road funding solution for Michigan. Let’s build on our momentum and pass a bipartisan, long-term local road funding plan so we can keep fixing the damn roads and building a bright future for Michigan.”
I-96 Bridge Rebuilding in Kent County
MDOT is investing $4 million to resurface 5.5 miles of M-57 (14 Mile Road) from just west of Ramsdell Road to Morgan Mills Avenue. The project also includes wider shoulders with mumble strips. Based on economic modeling, this investment is expected to directly and indirectly support 38 jobs.
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Highways: |
M-47 (14 Mile Road) |
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Closest cities: |
Greenville |
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Start date: |
Monday, August 18, 2025 |
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Estimated end date: |
Friday, October 31, 2025 |
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Traffic restrictions: |
Lane closures will be in effect throughout the project. Both directions of traffic will share one lane and alternate via traffic regulators. Short-term intersection closures will be in place during paving. |
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Safety benefit: |
This project will improve the ride, extend the service life of the roadway, and help with safety by widening the shoulders and adding mumble strips. |
Fixing the Damn Roads in Michigan
Since Governor Whitmer took office through the end of this year’s construction season, Michigan will have repaired over 23,000 lane miles of road and 1,600 bridges, supporting over 188,000 good-paying jobs. Over the last six years, the Governor and the Legislature have worked together to deliver six balanced, bipartisan budgets investing more than $24 billion to fix Michigan’s roads and bridges, more than the previous eight years combined. These investments have been paired with actions to train thousands of workers for high-wage jobs, including in the construction industry.
However, as the Rebuilding Michigan bonding plan and federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act near expiration, Michigan is approaching a devastating funding cliff for both state-managed and local roads. Without a long-term, bipartisan road funding solution, thousands of good-paying jobs will be at risk. Critical projects will be delayed or canceled, creating more dangerous conditions for drivers, further straining our infrastructure, and jacking up the cost of future projects.
Governor Whitmer is committed to working with anyone to fix the damn roads with the right mix and materials, so they are built to last. Recently, she sent a letter to the directors of MDOT and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity calling on them to compile and publicly release data on the impact of the state’s road funding cliff and federal funding rollbacks on Michigan’s unemployment. She will keep working with her legislative partners to reach a long-term deal.
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