Momentum in Motion: Rebuilding Michigan’s Vital Infrastructure
After two years of a down market in the State of Michigan, the construction industry looks to turn a corner in 2026. For the past several years, political gridlock at the state level has brought work to a slow trickle. But with bipartisan support at the statehouse, 2026 looks to take an upturn with three areas looking to carry most of the state for the foreseeable future: Infrastructure, Data, & Automotive.
Infrastructure
Since 2020 & under the “Rebuilding Michigan” program, MDOT had sold bonds to finance their road program with a maturation date of 2047 & squeezing by. In 2025, with the encouragement of the Michigan Infrastructure & Transportation Association, State Speaker of the House Matt Hall worked with Governor Whitmer to pass a two-billion-dollar annual road funding bill which will help the 47th ranked state in quality of roads rebuild their interstate system. After the Governor signed the bill, MDOT immediately released the I-94 Reconstruction & US-23 Reconstruction for bid. For the first time in over a decade, MDOT spec’d stabilization on these projects. Ultimately, Dan’s Excavating won both projects & have elected to carry Mt. Carmel Stabilization Group as their stabilization contractor on these 3-year projects.
Data
Like every other state east of the Continental Divide, there is an arms race for Data/AI. Michigan has been getting to the table a little slowly but is coming on strong with several proposed sites for data centers. We have a few large sites quoted to several contractors, but with the great work of the field team on Project Lighthouse in Port Washington, Wisconsin, word has spread that Mount Carmel Stabilization Group is the Go-To stabilization contractor for large data center construction sites. Along with data centers comes energy, we are finalizing a few substation projects which will look to go in early Spring.
Automotive
The Big Three (GM, Ford, & Stellantis) are quickly pivoting away from the EV Boom & putting their focus back on making the combustible engine more efficient. These companies are looking to invest money back into their Greater Detroit plants. Look for us to partner with contractors about updating the infrastructure around these large plants, as the RFQs are steadily rolling in & this proved to be some consistent work for us last year. With The Big Three looking to update, so do their suppliers. Bosch, looking to update their facilities, put out for bid the reconstruction of their test track facility in Flat Rock, MI and Mt. Carmel has been awarded this project, as well.
Energy
While subsidies for solar are starting to tail off, there are still a few projects which will wrap up this spring. While we started one in late fall of 2025, we still have two weeks to complete the project. Another has been committed to & we are looking at getting confirmation on three other projects. If all projects are confirmed, that will be 70 working days on solar projects alone in Michigan.
Overall, there is momentum growing for stabilization in the State of Michigan. With Dane Redinger educating The State at an engineer level & myself trying to get in front of every possible customer that wants to learn more about our processes, Mount Carmel Stabilization Group looks to build up to having a daily presence in the state for years to come.