The Michigan Infrastructure Council (MIC), established in 2018 based on recommendations from the 21st Century Infrastructure Commission to oversee asset management of all infrastructure across Michigan, announced a new tool for communities to document future construction. This new technology is designed to allow communities to understand their current assets and plan for the future. Too often communities overlap projects and create unnecessary redundancies rather than working through a coordinated effort.
MITA Executive Vice President Mike Nystrom served on the 21st Century Infrastructure Commission that put together over 100 recommendations for improving Michigan’s infrastructure and the creation of the MIC was one of MITA’s top priorities. Communities have struggled to document and understand their infrastructure assets, particularly their underground assets, and this new tool is a prime example of how the state can help communities manage their infrastructure projects seamlessly.
Known as The Portal, this new tool allows infrastructure owners to document future construction. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, The Portal alerts owners of overlapping projects and provides contact information, which enables the opportunity for a “dig once” approach at a work site. A major complaint that policy makers hear from the public is when a road is fixed and a year or so later the new road needs to be torn up for an underground infrastructure construction project. The Portal is an attempt to minimize those situations as much as possible.
If you have any questions, please contact Mike Nystrom, Executive Vice President, at mikenystrom@thinkmita.org or Lance Binoniemi, Vice President of Government Affairs, at lancebinoniemi@thinkmita.org. They both can also be reached at 517-347-8336.
