CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH DAN WEINGARTEN, M-DOT
The State Transportation Commission has approved the final version of the Michigan Department of Transportation 2026-2030 Five-Year Transportation Program.
The document is posted on the MDOT website and has been shared with key lawmakers.
Here in the Upper Peninsula, MDOT spokesman Dan Weingarten tells RRN News that there are several big projects planned in the U.P., including that rebuild of US-2/US-41 through Escanaba starting in 2027.
There’s also eleven bridge projects in the “Big Bridge Program” across the UP on the list, as well as nearly two dozen rehabilitation and reconstruction projects from one end of the Upper Peninsula to the other, scattered across the five-year period.
Weingarten adds that this five-year plan does not show all of the projects that will happen across the UP between now and 2030.
“It’s kind of pulling out some of the major projects,” Weingarten said. “All of our projects are on a five-year cycle, but we’ve got maintenance and capitol preventive maintenance jobs that are smaller in dollar amount, but are obviously still very impactful in keeping our roads in good shape.”
Weingarten says the Upper Peninsula’s share of the MDOT budget is typically around $80-$85 million every year for work across all 15 counties.
“We expect that it will continue in that range, and hopefully increasing a bit going forward with some extra money coming to MDOT from the new road funding measures that have passed,” Weingarten said. “We do have some major projects coming up.”
Check the “Superior Region” portion of the following document by scrolling down to Pages 55, 56, and 57, to see what’s in the long-range plan for the Upper Peninsula.
Weingarten says that the official comment period on the plan is over, but you can still give your opinions by contacting the regional MDOT Transportation Service Center offices in Ishpeming, Crystal Falls, or Newberry.
“If you want more detail than what’s provided in the five-year plan, reach out to one of our offices here in the Upper Peninsula,” he said.
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