FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 6, 2021 Contact: [email protected]
Governor Whitmer on Passage of Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will make historic investments in Michigan’s infrastructure
LANSING, Mich. – Governor Gretchen Whitmer released the following statement after passage of the historic bipartisan inf
“The bipartisan infrastructure plan is a win-win for Michigan because it will create countless good-paying, blue collar jobs, while helping us fix even more roads and bridges across the state,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “I am grateful to Michigan’s congressional delegation for working to get this done. The infrastructure plan will put our tax dollars back to work in our state to make game-changing, historic investments toward upgrading our state’s roads, bridges, water infrastructure, and so much more. This investment will make a huge difference in people’s lives and build on the work that we’re doing in Michigan to deliver on the kitchen-table issues. I’m ready to work with both parties in the legislature to get shovels in the ground and put Michiganders first.”
The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will send billions of dollars to Michigan to help Governor Whitmer continue fixing the damn roads, bridges, and water infrastructure, replace lead service lines, expand the state’s electric vehicle charging network, and so much more.
FIX THE DAMN ROADS In less than three years, Governor Whitmer has fixed more than 9,000 lane miles of roads across the state. The governor’s Rebuilding Michigan plan will fix an additional hundreds of miles of roads and create or support 45,000 good-paying jobs. The budget she signed recently will repair or replace nearly 100 crumbling bridges in serious or critical condition and create 2,500 jobs.
WATER INFRASTRUCTURE & LEAD SERVICE LINE REPLACEMENTS The governor’s MI Clean Water plan would invest $700 million to build up drinking and wastewater infrastructure while supporting 10,000 good-paying jobs. The plan addresses high water rates, tackles toxic contaminants like PFAS, builds up sewer and septic systems that can’t meet demand, and replaces lead service lines. In addition to MI Clean Water plan, Michigan has invested millions in drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater facilities across the state supporting thousands of local jobs.
Since January 2019, the State of Michigan has invested more in its water infrastructure than the previous five years—from 2014 to 2018—combined.
ELECTRIC VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE Governor Whitmer has launched the Charge Up Michigan grant program to install fast charging stations for private and commercial electric vehicles along key travel routes throughout the state. Since the launch of the Charge Up Michigan program, the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy has allocated $4,000,182.97 for chargers at 76 locations with a total of 182 charging station outlets.
HIGH-SPEED INTERNET ACCESS In June, Governor Whitmer issued Executive Directive 2021-02 to help bridge the digital divide by establishing the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (MIHI) to make high-speed internet more affordable and accessible. Governor Whitmer also signed into law the Broadband Expansion Act of Michigan, which codified the Connecting Michigan Communities (CMIC) grant program that, to date, has announced $12.7 million in grant awards that will help connect more than 12,200 homes and businesses.
The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will deliver record funding to help Governor Whitmer continue rebuilding our state’s roads and bridges. Beyond that, the plan will upgrade aging water infrastructure to remove lead service lines, expand high-speed internet access, and build a national network of electric vehicle (EV) chargers to support Michigan’s automotive sector.
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Whitmer on Passage of Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation
