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State Transport Grant to Support Mackinac County Jobs
Michigan Ag Connection - 05/22/2018

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has awarded a state transportation economic development grant that will support 45 new jobs in Mackinac County. The Transportation Economic Development Fund (TEDF) Category A grant totaling $456,233 will leverage $15,000,000 in private investment, at a private/public ratio of nearly 33-to-1.

Graymont LLC is a leading supplier of lime and limestone. The company is proposing to redevelop a limestone quarry on Borgstrom Road north of Hudson Township for mining and crushing operations. Trucks will transport crushed limestone from the quarry to a site adjacent to the existing Sand Products facility in Moran Township. There, the limestone will be stockpiled and transported to an existing dock for loading onto ships and transport across Lake Michigan. Associated with this development is $15,000,000 in new equipment, resulting in the creation of 45 contract positions for the crushing and trucking operations.

The new operations will lead to a substantial increase in truck traffic along the haul route between the quarry and the stockpile site. Additional truck traffic and turning movements are expected to cause delays at the US-2/Borgstrom Road intersection and on US-2 at the Sand Products driveway.

To improve traffic flow, minimize the impact of increased truck traffic, and improve safety, MDOT's Superior Region will construct a dedicated right turn-lane on westbound US-2 at Borgstrom Road and on eastbound US-2 at the Sand Products driveway. In addition, flashing sensor-activated warning signs will be installed along US-2 on both approaches to alert drivers of entering trucks. Minor geometric improvements will also be made at the US-2/Borgstrom Road intersection and at the Sand Products driveway.

"Graymont is looking forward to responsibly expanding our limestone business in the eastern Upper Peninsula," said P.J. Stoll, manager at Graymont's Port Inland plant. "This project will help improve safety on the section of US-2 relative to this expansion and to everyone traveling through this corridor."

The total cost for the project is $760,388, including $456,233 in TEDF Category A funding, $177,423 from Graymont LLC, and $126,732 from the MDOT Superior Region.

Enacted in 1987 and reauthorized in 1993, the TEDF helps finance highway, road and street projects that are critical to the movement of people and products, and getting workers to their jobs, materials to growers and manufacturers, and finished goods to consumers.

TEDF "Category A" or "Targeted Industries Program" grants provide state funding for public roadway improvements that allow road agencies to respond quickly to the transportation needs of expanding companies and eliminate inadequate roadways as an obstacle to private investment and job creation. Eligible road agencies include MDOT, county road commissions, cities and villages.


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