Midland Area Transportation Study

Midland Area Transportation Study
Name	Midland Area Transportation Study
Type	Regional transportation planning study
Location	Midland, Michigan
Period	20XX–20YY
Lead	Midland County Transportation Commission
Partners	Michigan Department of Transportation; Bay County Metropolitan Planning Organization; Saginaw Transit Authority Regional Transportation Authority; Federal Highway Administration

Midland Area Transportation Study The Midland Area Transportation Study is a regional planning assessment conducted to evaluate multimodal transportation infrastructure, travel demand, and safety in the Midland, Michigan metropolitan area. The study synthesizes traffic modeling, crash analysis, transit service review and land use coordination to produce an implementation roadmap coordinated with state and federal partners. It was developed through collaboration among local agencies, tribal authorities, transit operators and federal funders to align with statewide Michigan Department of Transportation priorities and federal FAST Act objectives.

Background and Purpose

The study originated from a need to reconcile local priorities with regional plans such as the Saginaw Bay Shoreline Management Plan and the Midland County Comprehensive Plan. Catalysts included population shifts recorded by the United States Census Bureau and travel pattern changes identified by the Federal Highway Administration. The purpose was to inform capital programming for the Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council and to qualify projects for funding through programs administered by the Federal Transit Administration and United States Department of Transportation grant mechanisms. Objectives emphasized reducing collision rates referenced in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration datasets, improving access to Dow Chemical Company employment centers, and enhancing resilience to flood events noted in Great Lakes Commission reports.

Study Area and Scope

The geographic scope encompassed the city of Midland, Michigan, portions of Midland County, Michigan, adjacent corridors linking to Bay City, Michigan and Saginaw, Michigan, and connections to the Interstate 75 and U.S. Route 10 corridors. Modal coverage included arterial and collector roadways, regional transit routes, freight movements to the Port of Saginaw, bicycle and pedestrian networks near Dow Gardens and commuter access to Midland County Memorial Airport. The temporal scope covered a 5‑ to 25‑year horizon to align with Metropolitan Planning Organization programming cycles and Transportation Improvement Program updates.

Data Collection and Methodology

Primary data sources included traffic counts from the Michigan Department of Transportation, crash records from the Michigan State Police and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, transit ridership from the Saginaw Transit Authority Regional Transportation Authority, and socioeconomic projections from the Federal Highway Administration and United States Census Bureau American Community Survey. Methodologies integrated four-step travel demand modeling used by the Urban Transportation Planning Model framework, safety performance functions consistent with the Highway Safety Manual, and asset condition assessment approaches from the Transportation Asset Management Council (Michigan). Geographic analysis employed GIS layers from the Michigan Geographic Framework and LiDAR elevation data aligned with Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps.

Findings and Analysis

Analyses identified recurring congestion on connectors to Interstate 75 and bottlenecks at intersections near M-20 (Michigan highway), with peak-period delays impacting access to Midland High School and employment hubs at Dow Chemical Company World Headquarters. Safety analysis revealed higher-than-expected crash severities at corridors adjacent to Chippewawassee River crossings and near Bay City Road, matching patterns documented by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and state crash statistics. Transit assessments showed declining peak ridership on fixed routes but growing demand for paratransit services serving Elder Care Centers and MidMichigan Health facilities. Freight movement analysis highlighted dependencies on the CSX Transportation network and interchanges with Canadian National Railway for regional supply chains.

Recommendations and Implementation Plan

Recommended interventions included targeted intersection improvements at M-20 (Michigan highway) and Eastman Avenue, signal timing optimization projects eligible for Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program funding, and multimodal corridor upgrades linking Midland Center for the Arts with transit hubs. Short-term actions proposed microscale pavement rehabilitation under Transportation Alternatives Program grants and expanded paratransit coordination with Area Agency on Aging Region 7A. Long-term strategies recommended grade separations or capacity enhancements on corridors feeding the Interstate 75 interchange and land use coordination with Midland County Planning Commission. The implementation plan provided phasing tied to Transportation Improvement Program cycles, preliminary cost estimates, and candidate projects for the BUILD and Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) discretionary grant programs.

Stakeholder Engagement and Funding

Stakeholder engagement employed public workshops at Midland City Hall, technical advisory committee meetings with representatives from Midland County Road Commission, and consultation with tribal representatives from nearby Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe. Outreach included coordination with employers such as Dow and institutions like MidMichigan Health, and engagement with regional MPOs including the Bay County Metropolitan Planning Organization. Funding scenarios combined federal apportioned funds from the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration with state allocations from the Michigan Transportation Funding Package and local match contributions from Midland County. Private sector partnerships and philanthropic support from entities tied to Dow and local foundations were identified to leverage public investment.

Impact Assessment and Monitoring Plan

The monitoring plan set performance measures aligned with FAST Act and Michigan Department of Transportation metrics: travel time reliability, crash rate reduction, transit ridership growth, and asset condition improvement. Data collection cadence was prescribed—annual traffic counts, quarterly transit boarding reports from Saginaw Transit Authority Regional Transportation Authority, and biennial safety audits using Highway Safety Manual methodologies. A governance structure recommended a steering committee drawn from Midland County Transportation Commission, state liaisons from Michigan Department of Transportation, and federal advisors from the Federal Highway Administration to oversee adaptive management, grant reporting, and to integrate findings into the Transportation Improvement Program and regional planning documents.

Category:Transportation planning studies in Michigan