Michigan Department of Transportation

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Coordinates: 42°44′04″N 84°33′30″W / 42.73444°N 84.55833°W / 42.73444; -84.55833
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Michigan Department of Transportation
State of Michigan
Headquarters425 West Ottawa Street
Lansing, Michigan 48909
42°44′04″N 84°33′30″W / 42.73444°N 84.55833°W / 42.73444; -84.55833
Annual budget$4.7 Billion [1][a]
Department executives
  • Brad Wieferich, Director
  • Michael Hayes, Transportation Commission Vice-Chair
Key document
Websitewww.michigan.gov/mdot

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is a constitutional

Michigan State Trunkline Highway System which includes all Interstate, US and state highways in Michigan with the exception of the Mackinac Bridge.[b]
Other responsibilities that fall under MDOT's mandate include airports, shipping and rail in Michigan.

The predecessor to today's MDOT was the Michigan State Highway Department (MSHD) that was formed on July 1, 1905 after a constitutional amendment was approved that year. The first activities of the department were to distribute rewards payments to local units of government for road construction and maintenance. In 1913, the state legislature authorized the creation of the state trunkline highway system, and the MSHD paid double rewards for those roads. These trunklines were signed in 1919, making Michigan the second state to post numbers on its highways. The department continued to improve roadways under its control through the

freeways. These freeways became the start of Michigan's section of the Interstate Highway System
. Since the mid-1960s, the department was reorganized. It was renamed the Michigan Department of State Highways for a time. Further changes culminated in adding all modes of transportation to the department's portfolio. In August 1973, the department was once again renamed to the Michigan Department of State Highways and Transportation by executive order. The name was later simplified and shortened to that of today.

History

Early history

The first State Highway Department was created on July 1, 1905.

Aaron Bliss. This appointment and department were voided when the attorney general ruled the law unconstitutional. A constitutional amendment was passed in 1905 to reverse this decision. The department was formed, and Earle was appointed commissioner by Governor Fred M. Warner on July 1, 1905.[3]

At first the department administered rewards to the counties and townships for building roads to state minimum specifications. In 1905 there were 68,000 mi (110,000 km) of roads in Michigan. Of these roads, only 7,700 mi (12,000 km) were improved with gravel and 245 mi (394 km) were macadam. The state's "statute labor system" was abolished in 1907. Under that system, a farmer and a team of horses could work on road improvements in place of paying road taxes. Instead a property tax system was instituted with the funding only for permanent improvements, not maintenance. The nation's first mile of

Woodward Avenue between Six Mile and Seven Mile roads in Detroit. This section of street was 17 feet 8 inches (5.38 m) wide. Work began by the Wayne County Road Commission on April 2, 1909 and finished on July 4, 1909, at a cost of $13,354 (equivalent to $323,967 in 2023[6]).[7]

Dead Man's Curve along the Marquette–Negaunee Road shown in 1917 with its hand-painted centerline, the first in the nation

In 1913 voters elected Frank Rogers to the post of highway commissioner. This election was the first after the legislature made it an elective post. Automobile registrations surged to 20 times the level at the department's formation, to 60,438, and there were 1,754 mi (2,823 km) of roads built under the rewards system. Passage of the "State Trunkline Act" provided for 3,000 mi (4,828 km) of roadways with double rewards payments.[8] Further legislation during the Rogers administration allowed for special assessment taxing districts for road improvements, taxation of automobiles based on weight and horsepower and tree-planting along highway roadsides. Another law allowed the commissioner to name all unnamed state roads. It also allowed for the posting of signage with the names and distances to towns.[9] The centerline was first invented in 1911 in Wayne County by Edward N. Hines, and saw its first implementation on a state highway in 1917 along the Marquette-Negaunee Road, then M-15 and now County Road 492 in Marquette County. That same year, the first stop sign was put in place and the country's first "crow's nest" traffic signal tower was installed in Detroit. This traffic light using red-yellow-green was developed by William Potts, a Detroit police officer.[10] Michigan is also home to the first snowplow.[11] This winter maintenance started during World War I to keep 590 mi (950 km) of strategic highways clear.[10] In 1919 Michigan first signed the trunklines, the second state after Wisconsin to do so.[12]

The first ferry service was started on July 1, 1923, linking Michigan's

M-16 (later part of US 16). The road was built to a standard of 20 ft (6.1 m) and between 7–9 in (17.8–22.9 cm) thick. The current standard at the time was 16 ft (4.9 m) wide and 6 in (15.2 cm) thick.[15] The 1920s were also busy for Michigan highways as Michigan developed the yellow-line center line to indicate no-passing zones for sight-restricted hills and curves. Roadside picnic tables, soil testing and aerial surveying of highways also debuted at this time. As MDOT historians put it, "the age of mud was over; the age of concrete was moving in.[16]

Later history

During the

Willow Run Expressway and the Detroit Industrial Expressway in 11 months so workers could get to the Ford Motor Company's bomber plant at Willow Run.[19] When the Interstate Highway System was created in the late 1950s, Michigan modified existing freeway plans to fit the Interstate standards. In the 1960s nearly 1,000 mi (2,000 km) of freeways were built at an average pace of one new mile every three to four days. Michigan was also the first state to complete a border to border Interstate, I-94 from New Buffalo to Detroit running 205 mi (330 km).[20] The 1950s and 60s also brought the completion of several major bridges in Michigan, the Mackinac Bridge in 1957, the Portage Lake Lift Bridge in 1959 and the International Bridge in 1962. The biggest bridge designed by the department spanned the River Rouge carrying the Fisher Freeway (I-75). This bridge was 8,367 ft (2,550 m) long and 115 ft (35 m) high.[21]

William G. Milliken gave the department authority over all transportation programs in Michigan. The department was renamed on August 23, 1973, to the Michigan Department of State Highways and Transportation giving it responsibility for aviation, railroads, buses, ships, ports and non-motorized pathways and trails.[23] The name was later shortened to the current form in 1978.[24]

In November 1978, Michigan voters approved Proposal M, which, in addition to allocating gas tax revenues, replaced the Michigan State Highway Commission with the Michigan State Transportation Commission.[25] By 1983, the department director became appointed by the state governor.

Leadership

State Highway Commissioners

Department Directors

  • Howard E. Hill, 1965–1967
  • Henrik E. Stafseth, 1967–1972
  • John P. Woodford, 1972–1982
  • James P. Pitz, 1982–1991
  • Patrick M. Nowak, 1991–1996
  • Robert Welke, 1996–1997
  • James R. DeSana, 1997–2001
  • Gregory J. Rosine, 2001–2002
  • Gloria J. Jeff, 2003–2006
  • Kirk T. Steudle, 2006–2018
  • Mark Van Port Fleet, 2018
  • Paul C. Ajegba, 2019–2022
  • Brad Wieferich, 2023–present

Transportation Commission

The Michigan State Transportation Commission establishes policy for the Michigan Department of Transportation as they relate to transportation programs, facilities, and developments.[26] The Michigan State Transportation Commission is composed of six members, serving three-year terms, appointed by the Governor of Michigan with the advice and consent of the Michigan Senate.[27][26]

Membership

The Constitution of Michigan requires that no more than three members be from the same political party.

Name Hometown Start End
Michael Hayes† Midland March 5, 2021 December 21, 2023
Rita Brown Birmingham April 2023 December 21, 2025
Gregory C. Johnson Wixom August 7, 2020 December 21, 2024
Heath E. Salisbury Gaines April 8, 2022 December 21, 2024
Richard W. Turner Monroe March 5, 2021 December 21, 2023
Rhonda Welburn Detroit April 2023 December 21, 2025
† Vice-Chair

Michigan Aeronautics Commission

The Michigan Aeronautics Commission is charged with creating rules regarding airports, related facilities and pilot training. It is composed of five gubernatorial appointees and 4 department head representatives.[28]

Name Hometown Start End
Russell Kavalhuna† Dearborn May 26, 2021 May 27, 2025
Kelly Burris‡ Pleasant Ridge July 14, 2019 May 27, 2023
Benjamin R. Carter Farmington Hills May 26, 2021 May 27, 2024
Rick J. Fiddler
Ada
 May 28, 2021 May 27, 2024
Brian R. Smith Grand Ledge 2019 May 27, 2023
F/LT. Brian Bahlau Representative for the Michigan State Police
Brig. Gen. Bryan J. Teff Representative for the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
Kevin Jacobs Representative for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Laura J. Mester Representative of the MDOT Director
Mike Trout Ex-officio director of the Michigan Aeronautics Commission as the Director of the Bureau of Aeronautics and Freight Services of MDOT
† Chair, ‡ Vice-Chair
Information from the Bureau of Aeronautics[29]

Department organization

MDOT Regions
     Bay      Grand      Metro      North
     Southwest      Superior      University

MDOT is organized into seven regions statewide and a series of divisions and bureaus that report through two chief officers to the department director. The chief administrative officer oversees the sections of the department related to aviation and aeronautics, finances, transportation planning and human resources. The chief operations officers supervises the seven regional offices, and the divisions devoted to highway research, design and construction.

The offices devoted to communications, passenger transportation and business and economic affairs report to director of the department.[30] The Mackinac Bridge Authority coordinates its activities to maintain the Mackinac Bridge as an independent agency through the department director.[2] The International Bridge Administration (IBA) is the arm of the department responsible to the Sault Ste. Marie Bridge Authority. That authority maintains the International Bridge.[31] The IBA reports to the chief administrative officer.[30]

Bureau of Aeronautics and Freight Services

The Bureau of Aeronautics and Freight Services carries out the enforcement of the

Commission's rules. It has three divisions: Airports Division, Aviation Services, and Freight Services. The bureau, along with the Passenger Transportation Bureau, was formed out of the Multi-Modal Transportation Services Bureau in 2006.[32]
The Airports Division runs development programs for airports which includes planning, design safety evaluation and construction. Additionally, this division licenses airports, flight schools, aircraft, and aircraft dealers and inspects airports. Seminars for pilots are run to keep license pilots up to date on current procedures.[28] Mike Trout oversees the Aeronautics.[32] The Aviation Services Division assists airports in bring in and retaining airline services. Through the Airport Preservation Program, this division aids at risk airports to find ways to stay open.[28]

Railroad subsidies

The department provides

Wolverine and the Pere Marquette lines.[33][34]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ For Fiscal Year 2019.
  2. ^ The Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA) is an independent state agency responsible for the Mackinac Bridge and thus maintains that section of the overall highway system. The MBA works with MDOT but does not report to it. The executive secretary of the MBA is appointed by MDOT with MBA approval.[2]

References

  1. Michigan Department of Management and Budget (February 7, 2018). "FY19 Executive Budget"
    (PDF). State of Michigan. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Mackinac Bridge Authority (September 20, 2005). "Granholm Approves MDOT, Bridge Authority Agreement Securing Bridge's Future" (Press release). Mackinac Bridge Authority. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  3. ^
    OCLC 8169232
    .
  4. ^ Kulsea & Shawver (1980), p. 1.
  5. ^ Kulsea & Shawver (1980), p. 2.
  6. Gross Domestic Product deflator
    figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  7. ^ Kulsea & Shawver (1980), p. 5.
  8. ^ Kulsea & Shawver (1980), p. 7.
  9. ^ Kulsea & Shawver (1980), p. 9.
  10. ^ a b Kulsea & Shawver (1980), p. 10.
  11. ^ Michigan Department of Transportation (n.d.). "Transportation Timeline". Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
  12. OCLC 15607244
    .
  13. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  14. ^ Kulsea & Shawver (1980), p. 11.
  15. ^ Kulsea & Shawver (1980), p. 12.
  16. ^ Kulsea & Shawver (1980), p. 13.
  17. ^ Kulsea & Shawver (1980), p. 15.
  18. ^ Kulsea & Shawver (1980), p. 17.
  19. ^ Kulsea & Shawver (1980), p. 18.
  20. ^ Kulsea & Shawver (1980), p. 20.
  21. ^ Kulsea & Shawver (1980), pp. 22–3.
  22. ^ Kulsea & Shawver (1980), p. 24.
  23. ^ Kulsea & Shawver (1980), p. 27.
  24. ^ Kulsea & Shawver (1980), pp. 30–1.
  25. ^ Michigan Secretary of State (December 5, 2008). "Initiatives and Referendums under the Constitution of the State of Michigan of 1963" (PDF). Michigan Secretary of State. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  26. ^ a b Michigan Department of Transportation (n.d.). "About the State Transportation Commission". Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  27. ^ Michigan Department of Transportation (n.d.). "Michigan State Transportation Commission". Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  28. ^ a b c Michigan Department of Transportation (2007). "A Citizen's Guide to MDOT" (PDF). Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 22, 2008.
  29. ^ Bureau of Aeronautics. "Michigan Aeronautics Commission". Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  30. ^ a b Michigan Department of Transportation (August 2010). "MDOT Organizational Chart" (PDF). Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  31. ^ International Bridge Administration (September 24, 2009). "Welcome to the International Bridge". Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  32. ^ a b Michigan Aeronautics Commission (October 24, 2006). "Rob Abent". Michigan Aeronautics Commission. Retrieved August 22, 2008.
  33. ^ Michigan Services (n.d.). "Routes: Midwest". Amtrak. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
  34. ^ Amtrak (n.d.). "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2005" (PDF). Amtrak. Retrieved October 30, 2006.

External links

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