Governor Gretchen Whitmer has announced a state Transportation Economic Development Fund (TEDF) grant that will support new jobs and investment in the eastern Upper Peninsula.
“These transportation economic development investments will create good-paying jobs and make communities across Michigan better places to live, work, and invest,” said Governor Whitmer. “The upgrades around the Carbide Dock Port in the Sault will ensure the flow of commerce and tourism through a major port in the UP can continue. Let’s keep working together on investments that make a real difference in people’s lives, create good-paying jobs, and grow the economy.”
The state Transportation Economic Development Fund (TEDF) grant helps finance public 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.
Grant Recipient: City of Sault Ste. Marie
The Carbide Dock Port in Sault Ste. Marie is currently being reconstructed after having been decommissioned in 2017. As a result of the dock reconstruction, Northern Sand and Gravel, Central Marine Logistics/Inter Ship, and Morton Salt will be expanding their employment and services.
Northern Sand and Gravel is a ready-mix concrete and aggregate manufacturer based in Sault Ste. Marie planning to use the reconstructed Carbide Dock to receive aggregate materials. They will need all-season roads to deliver the aggregate material from the dock to their plant on 3-Mile Road and plan to add two jobs.
Central Marine Logistics is a coastal and Great Lakes passenger transportation company based in Indiana with a location in Cooks, Mich. They plan to use the reconstructed Carbide Dock for Great Lakes cruise ships and bulk cargo carriers, both of which require all-season roads to transport fuel, waste, and supplies to and from the docked ships. The dock access will increase the number of cruise ships stopping in Sault Ste Marie, bringing an additional 2,900 tourists per year. From the dock tourists will have the opportunity to be transported to various locations around the Upper Peninsula, including downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Tahquamenon Falls, and casinos. The company reports that 90 percent of these visitors are not Michigan residents.
Morton Salt is an international mining company, which provides road salt to road agencies in the upper peninsula. Currently, the salt is being transported by truck from a mine in Marinette, Wis. Once the dock and road work are complete the company will begin shipping salt from a mine in Detroit, unloading the shipments at the new dock, and transporting the materials to customers, requiring an all-season route from the dock to I-75. This change is expected to add 25 new jobs.
“Improved road infrastructure is important for safe, efficient, and timely ice control salt deliveries to our customers at MDOT,” said Leena Kaleva, manager of Bulk Distribution Services in Ontario and the Great Lakes, Morton Salt Inc.
The City of Sault Ste. Marie will extend Ord Street from Portage Avenue north to the Carbide Dock and Alford Park. The City of Sault Ste Marie will also extend Salmon Run Way from the eastern terminus at Lake Superior State University Center for Freshwater Research and Education to the Ord Street extension. Additionally, Ord Street will be resurfaced from Portage Street to Easterday Avenue. All roads would be constructed to all-season standards, allowing trucking of heavy materials from the dock to I-75. The TEDF Category A grant program will provide $845,898 of funding to the project.
“The Carbide Dock Port and connecting the Easterday Avenue truck route will be economic drivers for the City of Sault Ste. Marie. With the help of MDOT, through their Economic Development Category A funding program, we will be able to finish Salmon Run Way and extend Ord Street to complete an all-season haul route in the Upper Peninsula,” said Brian Chapman, city manager, City of Sault Ste Marie. “This funding is critical not just for the city, but for multiple counties that receive salt shipments, aggregate, and benefit from cruise ship tourism. Having a roadway of this caliber will increase our import/export power and combat supply chain issues.”
—photo courtesy of the City of Sault Ste. Marie
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