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Governor, legislative leaders agree on transportation package
4/20/2006, 5:39 p.m. ET By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN The Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Millions of dollars will be pumped into local road projects now that Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Republican legislative leaders have reached an agreement on how some of the money should be spent.
Under the plan, the state will give $80 million in grants to local governments that they can use to match $320 million in federal transportation dollars, getting $400 million in projects under way this year and next.
Many local governments have said their tight budgets have prevented them from having the funds to match the federal dollars, leaving some projects undone.
[AD] Granholm said getting some of those stalled projects off the shelf and starting early on others could help the state add 7,100 jobs over the 2006 and 2007 construction seasons.
"People will see a lot of projects in the next two seasons," the Democratic governor told The Associated Press in a telephone call. "Contracts can be let, dirt can fly."
Local road projects that will get the state grants will be decided by officials from the County Road Association of Michigan and the Michigan Municipal League, along with Michigan Department of Transportation officials.
Two bills allowing the funding to go forward for the local roads projects were passed Thursday by the Senate and are headed to the House.
The agreement between Granholm, GOP House Speaker Craig DeRoche of Novi and GOP Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema of Wyoming also affects mass transit.
It allows communities to ask voters to approve taxes that would raise money to match federal mass transit funds. Federal money already has been set aside for engineering work on a Detroit-to-Ann Arbor light rail system and a study on the need for a rail system in Grand Rapids, but the work can't continue without the match from local governments.
Lawmakers last year passed a bill allowing Grand Rapids to ask voters to approve the transit tax, but not Detroit or Ann Arbor. Granholm vetoed that bill in December.
Tourism also will benefit under the agreement, which sets aside $7.5 million this year and the same amount in 2007 to market Michigan to out-of-state travelers.
The agreement also restores $1 million in state Amtrak subsidies.
It authorizes nearly $70 million in state road projects for this year, including some that had been vetoed by Granholm. Now that the state will be getting a larger share of federal transportation dollars, it will have the money it needs to go ahead with the projects, Transportation Department spokesman Ben Kohrman said.
[AD] Among the projects authorized are improvements to U.S. 131 on the Constantine bypass in southwest Michigan; a study of the possible expansion of Interstate 75 from Eight Mile Road to state Route 59 in Oakland County; improvements to the Wixom Road interchange on I-96 in Oakland County; and the Michigan Technological University Skyway in Houghton.
Sikkema and DeRoche said the agreement will help create jobs and spur Michigan's economy, which has been weighed down by some domestic automakers' and suppliers' financial troubles.
"This agreement will accomplish many goals vital to bringing Michigan out of its economic slump and getting her people working again," Sikkema said in a statement.
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The local roads project bills are Senate Bills 1132 and 1192.
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This is the e mail i got from the Governors office.
Granholm, Sikkema, DeRoche Announce Agreement on Transportation, Economic Development Jobs Package
Includes Unprecedented Local Partnership for Michigan Communities
LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm, Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema, and Speaker of the House Craig DeRoche today announced a sweeping agreement that will create thousands of jobs by addressing transportation and economic development needs of communities across the state.
The agreement paves the way for more than $400 million in road programs outlined in the Governor’s Local Jobs Today plan, which for the first time grants state funds to local communities for investments to match available federal dollars. The package also authorizes communities all across Michigan to ask voters to invest in mass transit programs. Currently, there are federal “New Start” earmarks for transit rail projects for a Detroit-Ann Arbor light rail system and a fixed guideway system in Grand Rapids.
Another major provision in the agreement authorizes improvements to U.S. 131 in Southwest Michigan that will reduce congestion and facilitate economic development.
Finally, the agreement includes $15 million that will be used by Travel Michigan to market Michigan to out-of-state travelers – $7.5 million this year and $7.5 million next year.
“Today’s announcement is about driving job creation in Michigan and paving the way for growth all across our state,” Granholm said. “From going anywhere and doing anything to attract jobs to Michigan, to investing in the infrastructure that supports commerce, we have a targeted economic road map, and it’s moving Michigan in the right direction.”
Sikkema and DeRoche also applauded the agreement.
“Transportation infrastructure is a critical component of economic investment and growth,” said Sikkema, R-Wyoming. “Senate Republicans have been insisting on a transportation program that takes economic revitalization, congestion relief, and safety into consideration. This agreement will accomplish many goals vital to bringing Michigan out of its economic slump and getting her people working again.”
“For our economy to grow and create jobs, we have to meet the infrastructure needs of the job providers and developers who are considering Michigan as a place to do business,” DeRoche said. “Today’s agreement brings good news for long suffering commuters and employers who have been desperate for a signal from Lansing that the state understands their need for road expansion and relief from congestion.”
Key components of the economic development agreement that will create more than 7,000 jobs include U.S.131 – Constantine bypass; changes to FY06 transportation budget, including restoration of Amtrak $1 million; legislation that allows communities to ask voters to approve mass transit projects; Latson Road project (Livingston County); Milbocker Road project (Otsego County); study of I-75 expansion from 8 Mile to M-59 (Oakland County); and Travel Michigan marketing funds.
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-------------------- Matt Marderosian Director Of Save Our Trains Michigan www.saveourtrainsmichigan
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