Biodiesel buses, roundabouts, accessible sidewalk ramps and road resurfacing are among the projects for which the Washtenaw Area Transportation Study (WATS) seeks federal funding under the 2024-2026 program Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).

WATS submitted the proposals on behalf of local governments and public transport providers, as well as the Michigan Department of Transportation. WATS Transportation Planner Suzann Flowers said the projects all aim to advance the goals of WATS Long-Term Plan 2045, which include fairness, security, access and mobility.

WATS is asking for $ 43.8 million in funding, but the agency plans to receive only $ 36.3 million from the federal government, meaning some agencies are unlikely to get the funding they have requested for their projects. The final disbursement of funds will be determined by WATS.

“One thing we ask members of the public to do is go to the miwats.org/shapethefuture website and review projects, ”says Flowers via email. “Anyone can provide feedback on proposed projects and that feedback will be shared with the WATS Policy Committee, which ultimately decides which projects will receive federal funding. “

Many projects include resurfacing roads across the county. Sections requested include Miller Avenue, Miller Road, Dexter-Pinckney Road, Earhart Road, State Road, Harriet Street, Hewitt Road, Nixon Road, Pauline Boulevard, Clark Road, Waters Road, Cornell Road and Golfside Road in addition to the roads encompassed by the City of Ann Arbor Capital Maintenance Project Application. Additional or widened cycle lanes, including potential connections to the Border-to-Border cycle lane on Cornell Road in Ypsilanti, are also part of many resurfacing plans.

The path requests a total of 12 large, low-emission biodiesel buses (four per year) to replace current aging vehicles that have reached the end of their lifespan, and People’s Express is requesting funding for an indoor parking lot on Barker Road in Whitmore Lake that will include electric vehicle charging stations.

Another request calls for the interconnection, optimization and modernization of traffic lights for 49 intersections, including Ann Arbor-Saline Road, Maple Road, Ellsworth Road, Textile Road, Carpenter Road, Huron River Drive, Golfside Road, Hewitt Road and Packard Road.

Other projects include new roundabouts (at the intersection of Zeeb Road and Scio Church Road and at the intersection of Nixon Road and Bluett Drive), ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps in several locations and a new sidewalk on South Main Street from Stadium Boulevard to Ann Arbor-Saline Route.

WATS estimates that final funding decisions will be made in January or February at the latest.

Sabine Bickford Brown is a freelance writer and writer based in Ann Arbor. She can be reached at [email protected]

Map courtesy of WATS.