Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the grants awarded by her state’s Department of Transportation would support nearly 500 jobs and bring $3.1 billion in investments to Detroit and Grayling Township.
The grants, made available through the Transportation Economic Development Fund (TEDF) that helps finance public highway, road and street projects, will support transportation infrastructure as part of larger projects.
“Today’s investments to fix the damn roads will support 478 good-paying jobs and more than $3 billion of investment in Detroit and Grayling,” Whitmer said. “In 2025, we’re focused on growing our economy, creating jobs for Michiganders, and making sure Michigan leads the future of key industries from health care and manufacturing to defense. These projects will upgrade roads around Henry Ford Health and improved access to Saab, Inc. and the Grayling community so we can keep moving our state forward. Let’s keep working together to power our economic development strategy and make Michigan an even better place to live, work, and invest.”
MDOT will provide a TEDF Category A grant of $8.1 million toward eligible construction costs, as well as $1.5 million toward non-construction project-related costs. The project will reconfigure West Grand Boulevard to handle traffic volume for a proposed Future of Health development that will build multiple sites supporting health and medical services along West Grand Boulevard, Holden Street, Lincoln Street and Third Avenue. The development includes a new 1.2 million square foot hospital facility and patient tower, as well as 600 housing units, 33,000 square feet of retail and community space and new public recreation and green spaces.
“The City of Detroit appreciates the TEDF investment and partnership from MDOT and the State of Michigan in support of the city’s application to improve the transportation infrastructure surrounding the HFH campus,” said Sam Krassenstein, chief of infrastructure at the City of Detroit said. “The improvements to West Grand Boulevard and the Holden Street pedestrian bridge will undoubtedly improve access to the hospital, MSU research facility, and anticipated development in addition to serving the neighborhoods, residents and communities surrounding these areas.”
The MDOT will also provide $2.8 million through the Michigan Economic Development Corp.’s (MEDC) Build Ready Sites program, to assist the Crawford County Road Commission in building transportation infrastructure for a new 140,000 square-foot facility for Saab, Inc. The new facility will require road improvements because there is no road access to the development site, officials said.