Kettering University in Flint gets new 'gateway'

Kettering University in Flint gets new 'gateway'
by Ron Fonger | The Flint Journal
Tuesday March 03, 2009, 11:54 AM

GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan -- Federal stimulus money could end up paying for a new, more direct connection between I-69 and Kettering University.

The "Kettering Gateway" project has been recommended for $2.4 million in federal funds by a county government subcommittee, making it the biggest local road job targeted for federal stimulus dollars.

Those recommendations still need approval by two local transportation planning groups and the state of Michigan, but a county official said today that the $9.3-million in spending is likely to stand.

"This is really the list," said county Road Commission Manager-Director John Daly. "This will be the recommendation to the state."

If so, the new I-69-Kettering connection will mark the end of an effort that's been talked about for years and pushed by university officials who say the current route to campus from the expressway is hard to follow.

Prospective students and parents have gotten lost in some of Flint's most run-down neighborhoods while trying to reach the campus, officials have said previously, and in some cases have been discouraged from choosing the university.

"We are pleased to see this happen," said Susan Bolt, vice president of administration and finance for Kettering. "If something can get going with the properties on both sides of the (Flint) River it could become a very attractive entrance to our campus."

The Genesee County Land Bank has also requested $10 million in stimulus funds for the cleanup and redemption of General Motor's former Chevy in the Hole site on both sides of the river in the area.

Details of the exact route of the new gateway to campus were not immediately available from the city this morning.

Several options have been considered in the past, including use of the existing Hammerberg Road exit to reach campus by way of Chevrolet Avenue.

In addition to the Kettering project, the county planning group is recommending $6.9 million for local stimulus-funded road work.

Other projects recommended for more than $1 million in funding include $1.5 million for concrete repairs on Pasadena Avenue, from I-75 to the Flinty city limits; $1.3 million for repair of Clio Road concrete from Pierson to Carpenter roads; and $1.2 million resurfacing on Silver Parkway in the city of Fenton.

Daly said this morning that he doesn't like one thing about the way funds apparently will be split: the Michigan Department of Transportation is expected to get $1 million of $9.3 million in transportation stimulus money for the area in addition to a direct allocation of its own.

"That doesn't sound equitable," said Daly, who expects MDOT to receive about 75 percent of the total new federal transportation dollars.