LANSING (AP) -- The state will kick off its first stimulus road project in about two weeks now that Gov. Jennifer Granholm has signed a bill authorizing Michigan to spend millions in federal recovery dollars.
State transportation Director Kirk Steudle said Tuesday the first shot of money will go to patch a stretch of Interstate 75 near Grayling and Gaylord.
"We need to get that going before the busy tourism season starts," he told reporters after Granholm signed the bill in a Capitol ceremony.
Steudle expects to have $400 million worth of work put out for bids by the June deadline, part of the $873 million the state will have to spend over the next two years from the stimulus package. He hopes to have the rest of the projects bid out by late summer so construction can start early in 2010.
The bill Granholm signed includes $635 million for main state highways and bridges and $212 million for local road departments. Another $26 million goes to other areas, including bus transit and freight projects.
Granholm said the extra federal dollars are expected to create 25,000 jobs this year and next. Among the projects, which are spread statewide, are the repair of 11 bridges over I-96 in Detroit, reconstruction and widening of I-96 in Kent County and road reconstruction and bridge work on I-475 in Genesee County.
In addition, the state expects to create more than 27,000 additional jobs through its own $980 million in spending on roads, bridges and transit projects.
"You're going to see a large number of (orange) barrels, but that means people are being put to work," Granholm said.
The governor and Steudle thanked legislators for moving quickly to approve the bills, allowing Michigan to receive and spend the recovery money. A list of the projects will be put up on the Web once they receive final federal approval.
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On the Net:
Michigan Recovery & Reinvestment Plan: www.michigan.gov/recovery
