What is Michigan to do with an estimated $11 billion being provided to it by the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law through 2026? What’s the best way to ensure the money gets to communities in the most organized way possible?

Chief Infrastructure Officer Zach Kolodin’s position began after U.S. Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal in November 2021. Kolodin did a tour of the state, meeting community leaders where they were and seeking to learn what the needs were.

“These are vast opportunities,” Kolodin said. “It quickly became clear that communities across Michigan were asking the same questions: What dollars are available to us, and how do we access them?”

On the table is around $7.3 billion for roads, $563 million for bridges, $1 billion for public transportation, $1.3 billion for water infrastructure, $1.7 billion to expand high-speed internet access and $110 million in electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Looking at infrastructure law following the conversations, Michigan leaders realized they needed to better understand the funding opportunity before they could design an effective response.

“The federal government has published hundreds of pages of guidance and resources and that’s fantastic, obviously, but we wanted to organize it in a way that was more easily accessible” for Michigan communities, Kolodin said.

Community Navigator, Infrastructure Investment Tracker and the Technical Assistance Center were born from that desire. They were officially launched in March, although beta versions of the initiatives went out earlier.

“They are really intended to help people understand what is possible,” Kolodin said. “If you are a mid-sized city in Michigan, you may want to know, ‘What are other cities like ours getting done?’ Having this map available to really help folks visualize what’s possible, and then translate that into action, was the idea.”

A public access for tracking federal dollars, Community Navigator is a user-friendly source sortable by the deadline, release date and more. The Infrastructure Investment Tracker then shows the results, and the Technical Assistance Center helps those in need to put together applications. Kolodin said their value has already proven immeasurable.

“We set out to build infrastructure that serves communities, that meets people where they are and makes life better, and the tracker demonstrates that we’re doing that. It’s also a tool to inspire, and to show that it really is possible in a community like yours to get a meaningful infrastructure project done.”

As examples, Kolodin noted that the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians won a $20 million federal grant to improve multimodal transportation: Information on how they did it and what exactly they did is available on the tracker. Additionally, the Ozhitoon Mino-Bimaadiziwin Project will make multimodal improvements on critical routes to essential services in the Detroit area, including reconstructing 3 Mile Road with a nonmotorized path, reconstructing the Shunk Road corridor and redesigning and reconstructing the Casino Road loop – among other improvements to provide reliable and equitable connections between housing, schools, the community center and essential services for tribal members and the surrounding community.

The tools are similar to the federal government’s Maps of Progress nationwide tracker, but they are geared at Michigan specifically.

Comprehensively, the $280 billion that has been announced through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is expected to address roads and bridges, replace lead pipes, help provide high-speed internet to every family in America, deliver cheaper and cleaner energy to households and businesses and produce concrete results that change people’s lives for the better, according to the White House’s Maps of Progress website.

Kolodin said success for Michigan’s Community Navigator, Infrastructure Investment Tracker and Technical Assistance Center isn’t going to be measured by project readiness. Some communities are not yet ready to apply for funding, although through the technical assistance center there is also support for grant writing.

“Sometimes people need more than just the basic information in order to organize their community and put together a successful funding application,” he said. “I think it’s also important for communities to leverage their relationships with state leaders, with their local economic development organizations, and even with their state and federal delegations to maximize these opportunities.”

To explore Michigan’s Community Navigator or the Infrastructure Investment Tracker, visit the Michigan Infrastructure Office at www.michigan.gov/whitmer/issues/michigan-infrastructure-office. “I would encourage folks to get into their cities and counties and talk to road commissions and water authorities and see what their obstacles are, and then try to solve those obstacles,” Kolodin said. “We’re here in 2023, and the information that the federal government is providing is better than ever. You won’t know unless you ask.”

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