Two area firms that are promising local jobs are getting some love from the Michigan Department of Transportation in the form of road work that will help them do business.
In Kalamazoo County, MDOT has committed funds for work by the Kalamazoo County Road Commission that will rebuild 12th Street to all-season standards and make driveway and turn-lane improvements. The Allegan County Road Commission will resurface 11th Street and construct a right-turn lane, at a new north entrance in Gun Plain Township.
The cost of this work more than $1.4 milllion -- $290,000 in state funds, $1.08 million from the Kalamazoo County Road Commission and $32,500 from the Allegan County Road Commission.
The construction projects will support
JBS Packerland in Plainwell. The company is the third-largest beef processor in the United States and currently processes, warehouses and distributes beef at its Plainwell facility. The main haul route for JBS trucks going to and from the Plainwell facility is 12th Street in Kalamazoo County, which becomes 11th Street in Allegan County. Currently, 12th Street is in poor condition and is subject to seasonal weight restrictions.
JBS says it plans to invest $43 million to construct a new warehouse and distribution center that will result in the retention of 40 jobs.
In Calhoun County,
Clyde Union has said it will construct a 42,000-square-foot addition to its current facility and add new equipment. The $17.1 million investment is expected to create 190 jobs.
To accommodate increased commercial and employee traffic the expanded facility will create, M-96/Dickman Road will be milled and resurfaced. The project also will include sidewalk ramp upgrades. The projects are expected to cost $440,000 -- $197,000 in state funds, $239,800 in matching funds from MDOT Southwest Region and $3,200 from the city of Battle Creek.
The projects part of nearly $8 million in grants for work in nine counties that the state predicts will generate nearly $846 million in private investment and support 4,473 jobs statewide.
Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Kirk T. Steudle, MDOT
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