Gov. Whitmer, MDOT Kick Off '26 Road Construction Season

Gov. Whitmer, MDOT Kick Off '26 Road Construction Season April 8, 2026 Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday joined officials from the Michigan Department of Transportation, the road construction industry, Operating Engineers 324 and Wayne County to officially kick off the 2026 road construction season. “Before I took office, Michiganders were dealing with bad roads and high costs,” said Gov. Whitmer. “I ran in 2018 to fix the damn roads because that’s what I heard from people in all 83 counties across Michigan.” Gov. Whitmer toured the M-14 project in Plymouth Township, a $143 million investment to rebuild and repair M-14/I-96 from Newburgh Road to Sheldon Road, including critical bridge work at the I-275 interchange. According to a release, this project is supported by nearly $84 million made possible by Gov. Whitmer's Rebuilding Michigan program to rebuild the state highways and bridges that are critical to the state's economy and carry the most traffic. The investment strategy is aimed at fixes that result in longer useful lives and improve the condition of the state's infrastructure. “Throughout the construction season, workers are going to be fixing roads all over the state,” said Whitmer. “I’m grateful for every mile you’ve fixed so far. These are dangerous jobs. So, drivers, when you hit the road this spring and summer, we ask that you slow down and pay attention. There’s Michiganders at work here.” However, a large...