Midland County to use new data to predict flood patterns

MIDLAND (WJRT) - (03/08/18) - Midland County will soon be using new elevation data as county leaders prepare for future flooding.

Midland County IT/GIS Director Chris Cantrell said last June's flooding was the tipping point to get the LIDAR data from the state, gathered from an airplane. It sends pulses of lasers to the

"That allows us through mitigation to say, 'okay we know we need to close these roads when the water hits 24 feet or 26 feet or 28 feet. We'll know where we need to do that across the county. And that way we can prepare in advance for the next flood that's going to happen," Cantrell said.

Cantrell said the information can be used by the road commission, drain commissioner and emergency management.

The county has wanted the tool for eight years, but when they first started looking at it cost $180,000.

Now it costs just under $14,000, with the county paying around $4,000 after sharing the cost with the road commission and city.

Cantrell said you might be surprised how land changes over time and can impact what locations will flood. New roads, new buildings and other things can impact where water will end up.

This new set of information will give county leaders a more accurate, instant picture of what's going on.

"If we had to do this back in 1986 you'd have surveyors and months and months of work, between surveyors and engineers to get the information that we can now get in the blink of an eye," Cantrell said.

The GIS Department has some preliminary data now, and should have the rest later next month.

Access to Chippewassee Park via Golfside Drive Closed Due to Construction

March 5, 2018 – Effective until further notice, the City of Midland has closed vehicle and pedestrian access to Chippewassee Park from Golfside Drive due to potential hazards related to the M-20 Bridge construction.

Visitors wishing to access Chippewassee Park, including Trilogy Skate Park and the dog park, may do so on foot by using the Tridge. Residents are reminded that electricity to these areas has been temporarily shut off due to construction activities. River access via the Golfside Drive Boat Launch remains open.

Construction on the M-20 Bridge is expected to complete in Fall 2019.

Periodic updates on the progress of the M-20 Bridge project will be shared on the City of Midland Facebook page at facebook.com/cityofmidlandmi and on Twitter at @CityofMidlandMI. For more information on trail closures and park updates, contact Midland Parks and Recreation at 989-837-6930.

 Residents are reminded that due to the nature of construction activities, the information provided above may change at any time. Should an issue arise that would change this schedule, the City will provide updates via the methods listed above.

MDOT Releases 2018 Construction Project Map

MICHIGAN ( WPBN/WGTU) -- If you're planning a trip somewhere in Michigan, you may want to double check the Michigan Department of Transportation's 2018 Paving the Way state construction map before you leave.

The map is now available for motorists to view online.

Along with where construction is happening, motorists can also see where rest stops and Welcome Centers are located across the state.

More information can be found here.

City Construction Projects Planned for Spring/Summer 2018

February 23, 2018 – The City of Midland Engineering Department is ramping up for another busy construction season in 2018 with a variety of street reconstruction, resurfacing, and water main replacement projects on this year’s list.

High-traffic streets scheduled to undergo reconstruction include Eastman Avenue at W. Wackerly Street, Waldo Road from Bay City Road to S. Saginaw Road, Waldo Avenue from E. Ashman to Wheeler, Airport Road from Dublin Avenue to Perrine Road, and W. Wheeler Street from N. Saginaw Road to Jefferson Avenue. The City anticipates street and lane closures during projects, and detours will be posted if necessary. 

Street construction activities will also take place at several other locations, including E. Carpenter Street, W. Chapel Lane, Gibson Street, Richard Court, Manor Drive, Sayre Street, St. Nicholas Street, and Orchard Drive from W. Sugnet Road to Main Street. General work includes curb replacement, sidewalk repairs, water main replacement, and street paving activities.

More information is available here.

MDNR Region 5 Releases its Winter 2018 Newsletter, "Collaborations"

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This edition has timely information on a series of DNR Grants Workshops that are important to many of us as we work together to make Region 5 a great place to live, work, and play!

As always, please share this with others and feel free to contact the DNR if you have concerns or issues that they can help you with.

Available from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Performance Measure Targets Adopted by MATS Policy Committee

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MATS Policy Committee recently adopted a resolution supporting MDOT-established Performance Measure Targets for five specific areas, based on five year rolling averages for:

  1. Number of Fatalities,
  2. Rate of Fatalities per 100 million Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT),
  3. Number of Serious Injuries,
  4. Rate of Serious Injuries per 100 million VMT, and
  5. Number of Non‐Motorized Fatalities and Non‐Motorized Serious Injuries

Transportation Performance Management (Performance Measures) is a Federally required approach that uses system information to make investment and policy decisions to achieve national performance goals.

Over time, MATS will adopt performance targets for all performance measures that apply to our area, and will revisit these targets according to a schedule laid out in the Federal Rules.