Member Article

On May 12th, Governor Snyder issued Executive Directive No. 2016-1 ("ED 2016-1"), which seeks to improve infrastructure in the State by utilizing the Michigan Department of Transportation ("MDOT") in multiple ways. ED 2016-1 requires MDOT to work with a number of agencies, including coordinating with:

- The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to identify and address major infrastructure projects where inadequate facilities could cause threats to water or wastewater services.
- The Michigan Public Service Commission and the Michigan Agency for Energy to identify entities planning major infrastructure projects in rights of way.
- The Michigan Utilities Coordinating Committee and the Transportation Asset Management Council to rally local agencies to include infrastructure upgrades in their road construction projects.
- The 21st Century Infrastructure Commission to identify opportunities for teamwork and innovation in regard to infrastructure investment in conjunction with road reconstruction.

In addition, MDOT will construct a public website to assist local agencies, consultants and contractors in coordinating road reconstruction projects with infrastructure upgrading. MDOT is also required to identify best practices for coordinating road work with infrastructure improvement projects, and to find better methods for locating underground infrastructure. The Governor finished by broadly requiring MDOT to work with other agencies in promoting infrastructure modernization.

ED 2016-1 comes approximately one month after Executive Order No. 2016-5 ("EO 2016-5"), which formed the 21st Century Infrastructure Commission as part of a holistic attempt by the Governor to begin improving and modernizing the State's infrastructure. Read more about EO 2016-5 in our March 15th post, and stay up-to-date on all Michigan infrastructure news with Dykema's Infrastructure Law and Policy Blog.