Funding would go to Grosse Ile bridge, West Road in Trenton

State Rep. Rylee Linting testified Thursday on budget requests she has made for key infrastructure improvements across the Downriver community.

“Workers and families I talk with throughout our communities want reliable local roads and bridges that they use every single day,” said Linting, of Grosse Ile Township, when speaking before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor and Economic Opportunity. “These are pivotal investments that are sorely needed, and I am going to continue fighting for them as we go through the budget process.”

Linting has requested a $10 million appropriation that would enable Wayne County to begin construction on a new bridge on West Road in Trenton. The current bridge is failing and its condition has already forced a closure of two lanes of traffic – creating bottlenecks and safety concerns for motorists, rail traffic and first responders who need to use the infrastructure to respond to an emergency.

Linting has also requested $3 million for the Grosse Ile County Bridge. The bridge is one of two that connect Grosse Ile Township to mainland Michigan and is owned by Wayne County, which has requested state funds to begin the process of permitting and engineering a full bridge replacement. Over the last 20 years, the bridge, which was first opened in 1931, has been closed several times for weeks or months due to repairs or safety concerns. An investigation by Wayne County determined the bridge needs to be replaced and is no longer viable.

“The county-maintained bridge is important to residents and their own budgets because the other bridge is a toll bridge, so this is people’s only cost-free way on and off Grosse Ile,” Linting said. “It’s also important to maintain these bridges so there is always one available for reliable transportation if the other is undergoing maintenance. Workers, families and our local economy would be in dire straits without this continued infrastructural existence, and this funding will help cover the costs of planning, getting permits and moving toward shovels in the ground for the replacement.”

Also providing testimony on the projects along with Rep. Linting were Wayne County Deputy Executive Andrew Kandrevas and Wayne County Department of Public Services Director Dayo Akinyemi.

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor and Economic Opportunity also heard testimony earlier in the week on a $5.89 million request Linting has made for the Downriver Career Technical Consortium. The consolidated career technical education program serves nine school districts across the Downriver community and offers more than two dozen different CTE courses that help prepare Downriver students for the workforce and future careers, notably in skilled trades.

The funding will complete the construction of a new center for DCTC and cover operating costs for three years. When initially making the request, Linting noted the funding is necessary as many facilities currently being used for the CTE programs are dated or barely operational. Without a central location, participating school districts also must spend more on transportation for students to get to the programs – drawing resources away from other needs.

Linting represents Grosse Ile Township and Trenton as part of the 27^th House District in Wayne County.