The third of six stops in the URC Infrastructure Innovation Tour, the Macomb County – Sterling Heights roundtable convened a discussion with legislators, business leaders and URC experts on Michigan’s failing road infrastructure and its impact on communities around the state, and research underway to meet these challenges.
Launched after publishing Foundation for the Future: URC Contributions to Infrastructure Improvement, this tour is built to continue conversations about infrastructure needs, promote innovation and foster future collaboration.
Tour Coverage & Content
Sterling Heights City Manager Mark Vanderpool kicked off the discussion at Velocity, a Pure Michigan SmartZone Collaboration Center, providing an overview of the city’s perspective on and funding for the Mound Road Project, and the potential business and community opportunities the project will offer.
Luke Bonner, of Bonner Advisory Group, which is overseeing the Mound Road Project, spoke about how revitalizing and rethinking this vital corridor connecting businesses and communities in the Metro Detroit area will enhance the roadway experience for commuters and the major industries that line it as well as expand opportunities for businesses to create jobs in Michigan.
Dr. Jerome Lynch, Donald Malloure Department Chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan, spoke about the cutting-edge technology being created at U-M —such as bendable concrete — that can improve the state’s crumbling infrastructure now and for the next half-century.
Participants also discussed other research at the three URC universities that can help Michigan once again be a state with state-of-the-art infrastructure. The discussion generated ideas for implementing new technologies developed by the universities in real-world situations to help improve Michigan’s failing roads.
Buch, Lavrenz, Lynch: Innovation investments would extend life of roads, Crain’s, 05/05/19
The WILS Morning Wake-Up | WILS 1320 Podcast: The head of the URC, a research conglomerate of MSU, U of M & Wayne State, discusses her group’s efforts to come up with real solutions for Michigan’s roads, WILS, 04/09/19
