LANSING, MI — Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently kicked off the beginning of road construction season for 2026. As part of the bipartisan long-term road funding plan that the governor signed into law last year, the state is investing an additional $2 billion in Michigan’s state and local roads. By the end of this construction season, the administration will have fixed 26,500 lane miles of road and almost 2,000 bridges since the governor took office.
“With the start of construction season, we will fix more of the damn roads in communities across Michigan,” Whitmer said. “I ran on fixing the damn roads, and I am proud to keep my promise and get it done with this year’s balanced, bipartisan budget. We’re making a historic nearly $2 billion investment to fix state and local roads, create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs, and lower costs for drivers across Michigan.”
Since 2019, the governor and legislature have worked together to deliver seven balanced, bipartisan budgets that invest more than $31 billion to fix Michigan’s roads and bridges. The M-14 project, where the kick off event was held, is funded through the Rebuilding Michigan Plan, which was introduced by the governor in 2020 to fix 122 major road projects.
“Repairing and upgrading Wayne County’s roads has long been a priority of my administration, and we have made significant progress,” said Warren Evans, Wayne County Executive. “The concern about the quality of our roads is certainly something we hear about from our residents, and responding to those concerns as quickly and effectively as possible remains a top priority.”
“Thanks to the governor’s Rebuilding Michigan program, MDOT was able to rebuild this segment of M-14 and some of the state’s most heavily traveled freeways across the state,” said Adam Penzenstadler, Manager of MDOT’s Taylor Transportation Service Center. “That also allowed for rebuilding some of the I-275 non-motorized pathway and several major ramps at the interchange.”
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"The start of construction season isn't just good news for our roads; it's good news for Michigan families, Michigan workers, and Michigan communities,” said Rob Coppersmith, Executive Vice President of the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association. “This boost in investment was decades in the making, and it happened because leaders finally put Michigan ahead of politics."
The long-term road funding package protects funding for schools and other essential services while ensuring resources are available to fund roads, transportation, and infrastructure.
