City receives $8.1M from MDOT for road and bridge upgrades near new Henry Ford Hospital

• Department of Public Works (DPW) receives Transportation Economic Development Fund (TEDF) grant dollars for W. Grand Blvd and Holden St
• DPW will redesign and rebuild a portion of W. Grand Blvd to better serve increased traffic volumes ($2.4M project)
• MDOT will build new Holden Pedestrian Bridge reconstruction ($7.8M project)

The City of Detroit Department of Public Works has been awarded $8.1M in Transportation Economic Development Fund (TEDF) grant dollars by MDOT for the Future of Health: Detroit project.

Henry Ford Health (HFH) in partnership with the Detroit Pistons and Michigan State University (MSU), is investing upwards of $3 billion to build a new world-class hospital and medical research complex. The Future of Health development includes multiple sites across the area roughly enclosed by West Grand Boulevard on the north, Holden Street on the south, Lincoln Street on the west, and Third Avenue on the east.

The development includes a new 1.2 million-square-foot hospital facility and patient tower, including an expanded emergency department, support services, utility infrastructure and a new cutting edge 335,000-square-foot research center for the HFH and MSU Health Sciences partnership.  The project also includes the creation of more than 600 housing units, 33,000 square feet of retail and community space located in new residential/mixed-use buildings, and new public recreation and green spaces.

DPW will manage the West Grand Boulevard portion of the work ($2.4M project). MDOT will manage the reconstruction of the Holden Street Pedestrian Bridge ($7.8M project). These improvements will increase accessibility and walkability within the New Center neighborhood, and improve connectivity between HFH's campus, New Center, and other nearby neighborhoods.

The City’s work on West Grand Boulevard will modify the median to add a third travel lane in each direction, create a full-service intersection at Trumbull/Lincoln Street, and improve crosswalks. The road work is intended to prevent stopped and queued turning traffic from stalling traffic flow, to improve patient access to the existing and new medical sites, and to ensure emergency vehicles can bypass traffic during congested periods.

"The City of Detroit appreciates the TEDF investment and partnership from MDOT and the State of Michigan in support of the city's application to improve the transportation infrastructure surrounding the HFH campus," said Sam Krassenstein, chief of infrastructure at the City of Detroit. "The improvements to West Grand Boulevard and the Holden Street pedestrian bridge will undoubtedly improve access to the hospital, MSU research facility, and anticipated development in addition to serving the neighborhoods, residents and communities surrounding these areas."

The overall cost of this project is $10.2 million with TEDF Category A grant program providing a grant of $8.1 million toward eligible construction costs. The City of Detroit is contributing $521,325 toward non-construction project-related costs while MDOT is providing $1.5 million toward non-construction project related costs.