Stimulus effect on Detroit Streets

**French777** · November-22-09, 09:01 AM

I was wondering how the stimulus money has effect the streets in Detroit. Out where I live in the Troy/Rochester/Rochester Hills area. There are orange barrels everywhere for road construction. Is there a lot of the streets in Detroit being resurfaced or repaired?

**casscorridor** · November-22-09, 02:57 PM

Short answer: No.

Long answer: typical that money flows to suburbs first. This is the legacy of 50 years of development. But Obama said he would reverse this trend, and rejuvinate inner cities that have been left out for decades. With that said, I'd rather have rail transit than perfect roads. But why not both???

**Mikeg** · November-22-09, 04:18 PM

The Michigan Dept. of Transportation has listed all of the planned "American Recovery & Reinvestment Act" [[ARRA) transportation projects on this PDF document. A little calculator work yields the following facts:

Wayne County has 65 projects listed that are worth a total of $136 million.

Oakland County has 39 projects listed that are worth a total of $130 million.

25 of the Wayne Co. projects are within the city of Detroit and they are worth a total of $73 million.

14 of the Oakland Co. projects are north of 14 Mile Rd. and east of Telegraph and they are worth a total of $107 million [[$80 million of that will be spent on just three M-59 projects).

All of these projects were supposedly "shovel-ready", but with a total of $350 million worth of projects identified in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and St. Clair Counties, there is probably more work than can be done simultaneously by the existing contractors. Therefore, the projects that were truly "shovel-ready" will be the ones which get started first.

**Single Malt** · November-22-09, 05:18 PM

I know in the City of Troy they are making a boulevard on Rochester Road between 16 and 17 Mile roads. Basically putting a greenbelt right in the middle separating the north side traffic flow from the south side. Also there is a shiny new park on the NE corner of Big Beaver and Rochester. We need that? That must be federal money...

**Todd_Scott** · November-22-09, 08:43 PM

Originally Posted by French777

I was wondering how the stimulus money has effect the streets in Detroit.

It has. A good number of Detroit street projects are relying on ARRA funding as Mikeg noted. At least a couple transportation projects receiving ARRA funding are bike-related, including a repaving of St. Aubin from Jefferson to Mack [[receiving bike lanes) and phase I of the Midtown Loop. Both went out to bid with construction expected in early spring.

**DetroitPlanner** · November-22-09, 10:34 PM

Don't forget that DDOT is getting some $30 million in transportation dollars as well.

There will be streetscape projects along Michigan and in Greektown. A ton of dough is going towards resurfacing some 100 miles of roads in the City of Detroit through the Stimulus Program as well. Millions are also going into the sidewalks.

Some $7 million is also going into finishing off the Detroit Dock project.

**Mikeg** · November-22-09, 10:59 PM

I included the streetscape and Detroit Dock projects in that $73 million total, which also includes more that $17 million in resurfacing projects.

Retroit · November-23-09, 09:24 AM

Speaking of roads, has anyone driven from Ohio to Michigan on I-75 lately? What an embarrassment! No sooner do you read "Welcome to Pure Michigan" than you are pulverized by the crappy roads. What kind of impression does this leave on people who are drawn here by our serene Tim Allen commercials. What a joke! [[And don't tell me it's Michigan's high truck weight limit or the weather, because the stretch from the last on-ramp in Ohio to the border with Michigan is in good condition.)

**Kevgoblue** · November-23-09, 10:25 AM

Just passed that sign yesterday. You're absolutely correct. The condition of the roads is deplorable. You can literally tell when you cross the state line, with your eyes closed. The Governor should have Kirk Stedule [[Dir, Dept of Transportation) take her for a ride and explain the reason for the difference as he enters his jurisdiction.
And a similar condition holds just as true in the winter. The Toledo side of the border is always cleared of snow long before ours.

**Novine** · November-23-09, 11:21 AM

The Toledo side of the border is a city. The Michigan side is part of a rural township.

**Gistok** · November-23-09, 12:36 PM

Originally Posted by Kevgoblue

And a similar condition holds just as true in the winter. The Toledo side of the border is always cleared of snow long before ours.

Kev, by your alias, you must be familiar with Ann Arbor... same holds true for Washtenaw County and especially Ann Arbor... I remember working in AA for 4 years... and crossing I-94 from Wayne County into Washtenaw County [[and especially into Ann Arbor proper)... has to be the worst winter snow clearing experience ever...

In winter it would often take me an hour to get from St. Clair Shores to the Washtenaw county line [[I-94)... and then another 1/2 - 1 hour just to get into the city. The word "SALT" must not be in Ann Arbor's vocabulary.

MichMatters · November-23-09, 09:37 PM

Yes, I haven't been down that way in quite some time, but the Michigan/Ohio border at Toledo is downright embarrassing. Our family used to joke about it whenever coming back to Michigan.

That one side is a township and the other a city barely means, anything, given the fact that we're talking about a federal interstate which is about 90% funded by the feds, and 10% funded by the states. Truth is that we've probably have one of the mose useless and ineffective ways to fund our roads in the country. MDOT can only work with what it's given, and our system of funding regular repair is outdated.

**Novine** · November-24-09, 09:44 AM

"That one side is a township and the other a city barely means, anything, given the fact that we're talking about a federal interstate which is about 90% funded by the feds, and 10% funded by the states."

You're ignoring that for MI, it's the end of the line for snowplowing. In comparison, in Toledo, it's part of a large network of freeways that get a lot of traffic. Lots of incentive to keep it plowed on the OH side, little incentive on the MI side.

**milesdriven** · November-24-09, 05:41 PM

Having driven over 80,000 miles throughout the Midwest in the past year, I don't think Michigan's roads are as bad as everyone makes them out to be. Sure, there are localized spots in need of immediate repair, but overall Michigan's roads are much safer than our neighboring states. State and federal two-lane highways in Ohio and Indiana rarely have paved shoulders, and many don't have gravel shoulders either. Their standards also don't require as smooth of a grade, resulting in a plethora of black ice in the wintertime. Michigan's entrance and exit ramps are also much safer, being easier to navigate and having longer merge lanes. The Indiana toll road [[I80/90) is in piss-poor shape thanks to privatization, and is also the last road to see a plow or a salt truck. I75 in Toledo is in great shape now, but was quite torn up until this summer. Farther south in Cincinnati, I-75 ruined my control arm.

The best part of driving in Michigan is the lack of state police on the interstates, which make for smooth sailing whenever I head from Toledo to Muskegon or Gaylord.

**5speedz34** · November-24-09, 05:51 PM

Originally Posted by Single Malt

I know in the City of Troy they are making a boulevard on Rochester Road between 16 and 17 Mile roads. Basically putting a greenbelt right in the middle separating the north side traffic flow from the south side. Also there is a shiny new park on the NE corner of Big Beaver and Rochester. We need that? That must be federal money...

This project has been going on since last May. All ARRA projects started in late-July or August.

What I want to know is if stimulus money is being applied to modernize and update Detroit's street lighting? I thought the city applied for ARRA funds to do that.