The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is bringing back its “Road Watchers” program in the northern Lower Peninsula this winter, and seeks both returning and new volunteers to report on road maintenance efforts.
For a second year, MDOT is recruiting “Road Watchers” in the northernmost 24 counties in Lower Michigan to participate in periodic surveys measuring winter highway conditions during the 6-9 a.m. commuting period on some key routes in their area:
– I-75 from Grayling to Gaylord in Crawford and Otsego counties,
– M-32 from Alpena to Vienna in Alpena and Montmorency counties,
– M-72 from Kalkaska to Acme in Kalkaska and Grand Traverse counties,
– US-31 from Chums Corners to 14th Street in Grand Traverse County,
– US-10 from Scottville to Ludington in Mason County, and
– M-115 from M-37 to the Clare County line in Wexford and Osceola counties.
“We received so many reports from our volunteers last year, and lots of excellent suggestions – information we used to improve our winter maintenance efforts,” said MDOT North Region Associate Engineer for Operations Bill Wahl. “We’re hoping more commuters will share their experiences on our roads this winter to help us do an even better job this year.”
MDOT will compile the survey results to track winter highway conditions with the goal of improving winter maintenance practices and response time. Surveys should only take a few moments to complete.
Road Watchers are polled randomly for each storm event and asked to participate in an online Survey Monkey survey about the road conditions they encountered. All results will be anonymous.
To volunteer, visit www.michigan.gov/roadwatchers.