Lathrup Village receives grant to fix Rainbow Circle

LATHRUP VILLAGE — On March 19, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced that Lathrup Village was among the 16 cities and villages across the state with populations of less than 10,000 that received funding to improve roads.

Lathrup Village received a $250,000 grant for the resurfacing of Rainbow Circle. The funding will be used for road resurfacing, culvert replacement, pavement crack sealing and additional preservative measures.

According to Whitmer, fixing roads is “critical in local communities across our state so we can save drivers money and time and keep Michiganders safe on the roads.”

“These grants will help 16 communities, including Lathrup Village, fix their local roads faster, lowering costs for Michiganders, boosting our economy, and creating good-paying construction jobs,” Whitmer stated via a press release. “We’ve made incredible progress rebuilding 23,000 lane miles of road and 1,600 bridges across Michigan, but there’s more to do. Let’s get it done.”

The grants are through the Community Service Infrastructure Fund (CSIF), which is commonly referred to as the Transportation Economic Development Fund (TEDF) Category B. Amounts range from $50,700 to $250,000, depending on the extent of the project.

TEDF was established in 1987 and reauthorized in 1993. It helps finance vital highway and road projects across Michigan.

Since 2018, CSIF grants have been administered by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to support road improvements in cities and villages with populations of 10,000 or less.

Lathrup Village City Administrator Mike Greene expressed the city’s gratitude for the grant.

“When the city did its big road repaving program a few years ago, essentially every single road in the city got a grade based on the Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating (PASER) scale. This was one of those roads that got left off of that bond and repaving those few years ago,” Greene explained, referring to a millage that was passed in 2020 for road repair.

The millage funded a three-year project to improve 7.1 miles of local roadway, which began in the spring of 2021 and was completed in the fall of 2023. According to Greene, although Rainbow Circle was evaluated, it was not included among the rehab work that was done through the millage.

Greene said that Rainbow Circle was in, “By far, one of our worst conditions.”

“So when we’re looking to apply for this grant, we’re trying to get the biggest bang for our buck,” he said. “The $250,000 is the maximum for this program, and for us, this road is going to cost probably about $590,000, so it’s not a project that the city could have just done on its own without a grant like this.”

He added that with the grant money, the city would only have to pay around $340,000 to repair the road, with the repaving slated to start in the summer of 2026.

According to Greene, since MDOT’s grant program takes place on a yearly basis, every year the city will likely apply for more funding to fix other local roads through the program. With winter having passed, an assessment is expected to take place to determine what roads need to be repaired.

For more information, visit www.michigan.gov/mdot.