FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Christina Strong
Phone: 517.482.1189
Email: cstrong@micountyroads.org
Montcalm, Kent, and Newaygo County Road Commissions honored with IMPRESS Awards at statewide Highway Conference
Lansing, MI – Montcalm County Road Commission has been honored by the County Road Association (CRA) of Michigan with IMPRESS Awards alongside Kent County Road Commission (KCRC) and the Newaygo County Road Commission (NCRC). These three county road agencies were recognized for their innovative collaboration at CRA’s 2017 Annual Highway Conference in March.
“Our county road agencies set a high bar in overcoming obstacles in maintaining local roads,” said Denise Donohue, director of the County Road Association of Michigan. “Often, that tenacity includes developing strategies together that strengthen the local transportation infrastructure in meaningful ways.”
Montcalm County Road Commission and Kent County Road Commission became the first to partner in a “Local Federal Aid Exchange Program” in which federal aid dollars could be transferred to one agency in exchange for non-federal transportation dollars, meeting the immediate needs of both road agencies.
MCRC also collaborated with Newaygo County Road Commission on a “Getting Ahead of the Curve” initiative to fund a significant amount of road work at the end of 2016, beating the expected competition for contractors in 2017, getting better unit prices in their respective communities.
An independent panel of communications and operations experts from several of Michigan’s 83 county road agencies judged submitted projects. Award recipients were honored for their projects that solved time restraints, labor costs, and communication barriers.
The 83 members of the County Road Association of Michigan represent the unified voice for a safe and efficient county transportation infrastructure system in Michigan, including appropriate stewardship of the public’s right-of-way in rural and urban Michigan. Collectively, Michigan’s county road agencies manage 75 percent of all roads in the state, including 90,000 miles of roads and 5,700 bridges. County road agencies also maintain the state’s highway system in 64 counties. Michigan has the nation’s fourth-largest local road system.
