Investing in Southeast Michigan’s transportation system: Projects in SEMCOG’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) geared to regional priorities

In a region as large and varied as Southeast Michigan, making decisions about transportation projects requires methodical and coordinated analysis and planning. To help illustrate how these important choices are made, I want to share the following article from our winter issue of Semscope, our quarterly magazine.

Investments in transportation projects ensure that our region’s transportation network safely and effectively enables people, goods, and materials to reach the places they need to go. In 2017, more than $1.4 billion in road and transit projects are programmed region-wide. While current funding falls short of what is needed to properly maintain all our roads and bridges and provide robust regional transit, local elected officials working through SEMCOG, guide a significant investment in our transportation system.

Through SEMCOG’s coordinated long-range Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and four year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), projects are selected and approved to fulfill regional priorities such as economic prosperity; safe and reliable infrastructure; and access to services, jobs, markets, and amenities. TIP projects programmed for 2017 will help to implement these goals throughout Southeast Michigan.

With three amendment opportunities each year, the TIP is very much a living document. So while it changes often, the makeup of the current year’s projects helps with understanding the major investments being made in our transportation system by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and local road and transit agencies.

In the chart of 2017 road projects shown below, preservation (resurfacing and reconstruction) of existing roads is a top priority. When choosing projects, Southeast Michigan transportation agencies use an asset management process to determine where to make the greatest impact with limited funding resources.

Bridge restoration and signals and ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) follow next as significant areas of investment. The frequency of bicycle and pedestrian (nonmotorized) projects continues to grow, and their share of 2017 is expected to expand further during upcoming amendment periods. One project expected to be completed this year in Detroit will add bike lanes on Warren Ave. between Eastern Market and the City of Dearborn. In addition to making this roadway more bicycle-friendly, enhancements will include handicap-accessible ramps, and signal and signage improvements. Total anticipated investments for 2017 road projects in Southeast Michigan are expected to exceed $1 billion.

Total transit investment, at approximately $400 million, will remain consistent with current levels. Transit funding falls into two categories – capital projects and funding dedicated to operating the transit systems. As with transit agencies throughout the country, far more is expended for transit operations (more than $300 million expected for 2017) in Southeast Michigan than for capital items (more than $100 million).

While this investment will certainly help make our daily trips safer and more efficient, it is imperative that we find long-term funding solutions to implement enhanced regional transit and bring our roadways and other infrastructure up to the level necessary to make this region thrive into the future.

Michigan’s first Flex Route to alleviate traffic problems between Brighton and Ann Arbor

One of the most notable transportation developments of 2017 is MDOT’s Flex Route 23 project, which will feature several significant enhancements along US-23 between M-14 and Silver Lake Road. A $92 million investment, Flex Route 23 will include bridge repair and replacements, pavement repairs, and upgraded acceleration and deceleration ramps. While all these improvements are important, the innovative part of this project is the coordinated Flex Route (active traffic management) system, which will manage traffic flow by using a new camera-guided lane control system to direct drivers during peak congestion and other travel incidents.

Concept illustration courtesy of Michigan Department of Transportation

Upgraded median shoulders will allow an additional lane to open during peak periods, while electronic message boards will communicate to drivers which lanes are open and when to merge. Six new crash investigation sites will enable traffic to flow as smoothly as possible after incidents occur in the roadway. The Flex Route system will be monitored at MDOT’s Statewide Transportation Operations Center through the use of ITS technology.