September 1, 2025 • 19 mins
The bridges we build, the roads we travel, and the paths we create literally shape how our communities grow and connect. In this enlightening conversation with Senator Mark Huizenga, we dive deep into the infrastructure projects that have transformed Walker from the ground up.
When it comes to the Fruit Ridge Bridge project, persistence proved powerful. After eight years of advocacy that spanned from Walker City Hall to Washington D.C., Senator Huizenga finally secured $25 million in funding for this critical expansion. What was once a dangerous two-lane bottleneck connecting five-lane roads will soon safely accommodate both commercial traffic and non-motorized trail users. Most surprising? Despite the nine-month construction timeline, residents recognize the necessity and have embraced the temporary inconvenience for long-term gain.
The tunnel under M45 Lake Michigan Drive tells an equally compelling story of determination. When initial grant funding fell short, creative partnerships with philanthropic organizations made the difference. One potential donor, after witnessing pedestrians playing "Frogger" across the busy highway, immediately recognized the life-saving potential of this project. Beyond safety, this infrastructure improvement created what developers call a "radius of impact" that enhances surrounding property values and development opportunities.
Looking ahead, Walker faces continued infrastructure challenges with Wilson Avenue (M11) and potential regional attractions like the proposed aquarium. Senator Huizenga reveals how the innovative development of the Northridge industrial corridor through 425 agreements and creative tax strategies has already brought thousands of jobs to the area while maintaining separation between industrial and residential zones.
Through consensus-building and a commitment to finding win-win solutions, Walker continues to evolve with infrastructure that serves residents, businesses, and visitors alike. Follow Senator Huizenga on social media to see behind-the-scenes tours of regional facilities and stay updated on the projects shaping West Michigan's future. What infrastructure improvements would make the biggest difference in your daily life? Share your thoughts with us!
If you have comments about this podcast, or ideas for future episodes, please email us at PODCAST@WALKER.CITY
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to Made in Walker, a podcast that connects
you to the people, the storiesand the ideas shaping our
community, from local innovatorsto everyday changemakers.
We're diving deep into whatmakes Walker a great place to
live, work and grow.
Here's your host, nicoleDiDonato.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
We're talking about something that affects us all,
whether you're commuting to work, running a business or even
just walking the dog, and that'sinfrastructure.
And we're pleased to be joinedby Senator Mark Huizenga today,
someone who knows all too welland has worked very closely with
cities like Walker to get themthe resources they need in order
to grow.
Senator, thank you so much forjoining us today.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Yeah, glad to be here today.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
And let's kick things off with the Fruit Ridge Bridge
.
All of us see it is going on,but there has been a lot in the
background for years.
How were you finally able toget this off the ground for us?
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Well, I think it's important to think about the
historical context.
Back in 2017, when we wereworking on the FedEx facility,
then we were taking really thatlong view, and I always like to
do that because, you know, if welive in the moment, people will
say things fall apart.
But back in those days, I saidwe were talking about the Walker
Avenue Bridge.
We had plenty of infrastructurethere.
(01:22):
We had to do some work withsome on-ramps and things like
that, but it was going to beready for massive amounts of
trucks going in and out of there, and making sure that it's safe
for our regular residents andother people that are going to
work was really important to me.
And I asked the folks from MDOT.
I said so, what does it looklike with the Fruit Ridge Bridge
?
Because, as we continue to growthis area, we're going to need
(01:42):
more infrastructure and morebandwidth on that bridge.
And they said, well, we don'treally actually have plans for
anything right now.
And I said nothing.
And they said, well, actually,in 2024, we're planning on
putting a new deck on the bridge.
And I said save your money, man, this is a real problem.
I'm not a construction engineeror anything, but look when
(02:03):
you've got a five-lane road thatgoes to a two-lane bridge that
connects to a five-lane road.
That's probably a problem.
And so then, even then when Iwas mayor, we had conversations
about redoing some of the ductwork underneath there and
putting in culverts and thingsthat needed work, and I said I
think we should save our moneyand really play the long game
and make sure we get the fundingfor this.
(02:23):
And I said I think we shouldsave our money and really play
the long game and make sure weget the funding for this.
So we did work with the rightplace, with the local
transportation folks from MDOT.
We planned out what this thingcould look like, but the magic
issue was no funding.
And so even though there was aneed and it was clearly
demonstrated by this and withthe growth that we continue to
see in Walker through thatindustrial corridor there just
(02:44):
wasn't funding.
I had a chance to go toWashington DC and advocate for
this, to talk with folks fromthe Department of Transportation
.
We had a great video advocatingfor this and it just didn't
happen.
The current mayor, mayor Kerryhe went to Washington, also
advocated for it and during thatsame time when I was mayor, I
went to Lansing and advocatedfor the dollars.
It just didn't happen.
(03:05):
It wasn't until a couple ofyears ago that there was a
budget cycle and they needed myvote, and I said look, this is
the one thing that I've beenworking on for literally eight
years.
We absolutely have to do this,and so I was able to secure the
funding for that $25 million andit's a ton of money, but at the
end of the day, it's going tobe safer for everyone, it's
going to provide throughput fortruck traffic and allow for
(03:26):
development to continue to occur.
And, probably just as important, one of the things that people
probably don't think about isthe non-motorized trail aspect,
and so connecting the Muscatawa,the Fred Meyer Trail and this
network, that was really theweakest link.
I can tell you firsthand my sonwas doing a merit badge for Boy
Scouts and we were riding fromMuskegon back to our house in
(03:46):
Walker and had to ride over thatbridge, and I told him
afterwards.
I said we will do that once.
It is just too dangerous.
So seeing safe passageway andbuilding trails and
infrastructure is something I'velong been an advocate for.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
We are so, excuse me, grateful for you and just the
feedback that we're getting onsocial media other people have
pointed out there's nocomplaints.
There's very minimal complaintsabout this.
Everybody knows it was needed,and how does that feel to have a
major construction project thatpeople are like, yeah, we
support this.
It's nine months long, but wegot it.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Yeah, I know that's the bane of anybody who's
elected, I would say, is thatwhen the roads or bridges are
bad, we hear about it.
When we fix them, then peoplecomplain because it's detours
and things like that.
But for my office we've hadvery little complaints about it
as well, and I think people knowlike, hey, we can get through
the summer and by the time thefall comes around, the project,
last I heard is on target forcompletion, so that's good and
(04:40):
it's pretty close to being onbudget, which is also pretty
rare.
So we're very excited aboutthat.
You know these kinds ofinfrastructure projects are so
important.
I'll give you just one otherexample.
That is when we were working onthat FedEx.
We had a problem because thethe driveways didn't quite align
up the right way.
So if you're taking 96eastbound and getting off by
where the old Bob Evans wasthere we had to put in a new
(05:04):
signal and the problem was theroads didn't align.
And so we were there havingbreakfast and talking about it
and the folks I was with said,well, we can't do it now.
But, nicole, I was on theplanning commission for six
years.
We know that safety is a hugedeal and if we align those
intersections and play the longgame, it's going to make a big
difference.
Now nobody will probably noticethat right now, but during that
(05:26):
time I said, guys, we have totry.
We have to try to make thiswork.
And so they said there's threethings that are wrong with this.
Number one, that off ramps atMDOT property project we don't
have the funding for that.
Two, that property that theyneed to align, that it isn't
ours.
And three, timing-wise, the waythis is going to go with all
the trucks that are going tocome through there.
It wasn't going to work forthem.
(05:48):
So I said we have to try.
So I talked to the folks atMeijer and they said, boy, if
you can make this happen, mark,we'll deed this to the city, to
MDOT or whoever needs this,because it Because it's better
for our people that work here,it's going to be safer and for
our truck traffic.
And so it was just a greatexample of working together.
We got a grant from MDOT to dothat work there and the signals
(06:08):
went in and when it wascompleted it was basically
seamless.
So no one really knows thatstory, but it's that long-term
thinking that I think is reallyso important in infrastructure
in West Michigan, absolutely andyour ability to work with
everybody and to come up with afinal solution.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
that is huge.
Yeah, and we were speaking alsoabout some other infrastructure
changes.
One of the biggest thingsduring your tenure as City of
Walker, mayor, was the tunnelunder M45 Lake Michigan Drive
there.
What can you tell us about thatwith the Standale-Meyer Trail?
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Yeah, that's a really interesting project because
trails are so important.
It's one of those things wheresafety is also paramount.
Of course, we want safepassageway and we received a
grant from the state for thatand the dollars came in too high
.
It was going to be a veryexpensive project, of course,
extremely complicated.
Putting a tunnel of that sizeunder a super busy road like M45
(07:05):
is hard, expensive and verydisruptive.
And folks in the city said Iguess we're not gonna be able to
do this.
And my comment back was do youthink it's going to be less
expensive in the future if wepostpone it?
Do you think it'll be thatgrant will be available in the
future if we don't do it rightnow?
And if we don't do it now, arewe going to put people in harm's
way?
And of course, you know theanswer to all those.
And so we tried, and we triedreally hard and we raised money
(07:28):
from all sorts of philanthropicsources, including the Meyer
Foundation they were great aswell as other organizations
around the state, and one of thebest stories of that is that an
organization that I requested agrant from, they said you know,
huizinga, we're going to haveto check this out and make sure
this is valid.
Look, we like you and trust you.
But you know, trust but verify.
So they sent a crew out thereand they were taking a look at
(07:50):
it and they called me afterwardsand said man, mark, this is so
needed.
We are happy to support this.
He said we were watching peopletrying to traverse M45, and he
said it was like theold-fashioned arcade game of
Frogger, where these people aregoing around dodging the cars.
And he told me he said we wereactually worried that we were
going to see somebody get hit.
And he said somebody almost did.
So.
(08:11):
No greater testimony than thatthe project was disruptive.
But again, now that it's there,people actually love it.
And you know, an interestingstory was I had a developer ask
me Mark, are you guys reallygoing to do that tunnel?
And I said, yeah, we are.
We expect it to be completed onsuch and such a date.
And we got done talking.
I said, look, I just have toask why.
Why is it that you even careabout the tunnel?
(08:32):
And he said, oh, it's actuallysuper important for development
because the radius of impact fora project like this makes it
easier for us to do our projects.
Radius of impact for a projectlike this makes it easier for us
to do our projects, whetherit's housing, apartments or what
have you.
It's really important.
So sometimes I think it getslost for those of us in local
government and, at the time, orstate government to know how
(08:53):
important these infrastructureprojects are for the people that
we serve and for thedevelopments that people want to
live in.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
So far-reaching even for visitors who are coming into
the community.
So I was one of those folksthat would sometimes I would go
to the corner of Kinney, try tocross.
Other times I would try to dartacross Lake Michigan Drive.
So from someone who lovedwalking in the area, it's a
wonderful investment, yeah andif you've ridden on it it's
pretty seamless.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
People say like gosh, I don't even really know, I'm
driving underneath a super busyroad like this?
Oh, not at all it feels sereneand it's kind of tucked in there
, it is it is you don't hearanything about that.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
One of the things that we were hearing as well
wanted to throw in with theproposed possibility of an
aquarium coming to South Walker.
We know that the infrastructurethere would need to be upgraded
.
A lot of folks, probably duringyour tenure and beyond, have
been asking about the wideningof M11, wilson.
What could we expect in thefuture with Wilson?
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Well, no secret, m11 is one of those areas where the
state has actually done a prettygood job of expanding it where
it needs to be expanded.
But on the flip side, if youdrive that way from the Grand
River towards Dandale or towardsCity Hall, the road goes from
five lanes to four lanes tothree lanes, to three lanes, to
(10:10):
four lanes to five lanes andback and forth.
And they did that because therejust simply wasn't funding.
I'm hopeful that we see aninfrastructure package come
through the House and Senate.
The House package actuallylooks pretty good and really a
couple billion dollars that aresorely needed for projects
around the state are on thetable, and I've been advocating
for this Wilson project probablyas long as I advocated for the
(10:33):
Fruit Ridge Bridge almost, butwe know it's needed.
The interesting thing is thatthe right-of-way that's needed
for the widening through therealready exists, so they don't
have to do property acquisitionor other complex things like
that.
And then you couple that with amassive regional or super
regional project like theaquarium.
If that happens, we're going toneed a lot of money to make
(10:56):
sure that works, from off-rampredesign to on-ramp redesign,
probably some work at thatbridge and even some work for
access in and out of thataquarium.
But of course people are goingto travel from north of Michigan
, from the south, and taking M45from Ottawa County or elsewhere
connecting to M11 to the south.
(11:17):
That's all going to beimportant.
So I actually put in a requestthis year, last year and the
year before for a huge amount ofmoney to widen that road.
We'll continue to work for thatevery year.
It's really our top priority,not only for future growth.
But here's the thing peopleoftentimes forget why is this
area so important?
Well, what's the next crossingonto the west side?
(11:41):
If you go north on the river,the next bridge that crosses
that is Wealthy Street.
And if you think about it, ifyou go down river, if you travel
to the west, where's the nextone?
It's out in Allendale.
So there's a huge amount oftraffic that's going to continue
to grow that way.
Allendale is a veryheavy-growing area Talmadge,
township, walker, and guess what?
(12:02):
That's the primary way that alot of people get in and out of
the city.
So building that infrastructurewill be important for all of us
and I'll continue to advocatefor that one.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
And supporting cities like Walker and their growth,
whether it's broadband andinfrastructure and such.
You know we hear what you kindof do behind the scenes.
Why is that so important forresidents to know what is going
on in Lansing on behalf of youknow folks who want to live and
work in areas like this.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Sure.
So I think probably the bestexample of that is roads.
And why are roads importantroads?
And why are roads important Tothe average resident of Walker
or Kent County or anywhere in mydistrict?
Our residents don't know ordon't care, nor should they care
, if they're riding on a cityroad, a county road or a state
road.
They just want the roads andinfrastructure to be good.
(12:51):
They want safe passageway, theywant to move without heavy
traffic, and so that means thatwe have to work across a broad
variety of governmental agenciesand couple that with federal
agencies about policies and whatmakes that work.
But working towards those goalsmeans that we work with the
county folks, the state folksKent County Road Commission,
ottawa County Road Commission.
I meet with those folks on aregular basis and we meet with
(13:14):
MDOT on a regular basis to findout what kind of projects they
have, what kind of things we cando.
And you know, I think it's oneof our jobs as these so-called
boots on the ground, meetingwith constituents on a regular
basis to identify what theirpinch points are, what problems
they see, and that's really thebest way we can advocate.
Representing the people is whatwe're supposed to do.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Yeah, absolutely.
And then kind of going back tothe big economic engine, really
Northridge, the industrial area,and again how Fruit Ridge was
so integral in helping that growtoo.
Where do you see that kind ofcoming up and is part of the
region as well?
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Well, you know it's interesting, when that FedEx
facility was being designed andI was working with the
developers on that project, theyonly wanted to extend that
Northridge Road to the FedExfacility.
And I said to them guys, anychance we can extend this out to
Bristol, to the east?
And they said we really don'thave any plans to do that.
(14:09):
It's expensive.
Just because you see vacantland out there doesn't mean it's
developable or even availablefor industrial usage like we
have there.
And so we worked with complextax strategies, called a 425
agreement, where the propertyactually is under the Grand
Rapids tax rolls.
And they did that because theycould access brownfield tax
(14:30):
credits and that meant thatthose tax credits would be used
for the developers to put thatroad in.
Now it was wildly successful.
I thought that would probably be10 or 15 years before it was
fully developed, but boy, just afew years into it we saw just a
massive amount of employerscome in that area and pretty
soon I saw the opportunity tosay look, we also have to extend
(14:53):
this because industrial growth,warehousing, manufacturing is
key to West Michigan, but theyneed a place to land.
So we did exactly the same thingto the west.
We worked on extendingNorthridge off to Fruit Ridge.
Now there was a little sectionwhere it went to a cul-de-sac,
but there was a massive amountof property in the middle, lots
of property owners, and if yougo back and talk to staff that
(15:16):
were there during that time,there were contentious moments
about like how do we, how do wework with landowners?
We're not going to do eminentdomain, we're not taking
anything over, but we work withdevelopers to create
infrastructure and a place forbusinesses to come in and land
and be successful.
And that area too continues todevelop massively.
I mean thousands and thousandsof jobs brought right here to
(15:38):
Walker, close to home.
And also, I guess the otherthing I'd say is that this strip
of property is different andset aside from where the
residents live, which I think isreally important and great too.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Yes, yeah, and you know your just ability to be
able to work with everybody andbe able to kind of come to a
single conclusion that works, asingle conclusion that works for
everyone.
What?
What is the secret to that, youknow?
Speaker 3 (16:00):
You know, I would say that consensus building is so
important and finding ways toget to yes.
And I think a lot of that comesfrom the six years that I spent
on the Walker PlanningCommission.
Because planning is hard,because no one likes change,
myself included.
Nobody wants anything in theirbackyard, but sometimes it's
(16:21):
about persuading and showing thedetails about how we're going
to stand up and protect whatthey have, making sure that
their assets, their home ortheir property or business isn't
going to be adversely affectedby this new change.
And if you can demonstrate awin-win, that's how we get
things done.
And you know it's not alwayseasy, but the hard work it's
really never easy, I would say.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Yeah but rewarding, I'm sure, when you get to, you
know, get feedback from people.
Yes, yes, and you do awonderful job with social media.
So if people want to find youand follow up with you, what
types of stuff do you displaythere?
Speaker 3 (16:51):
You know we do a lot of videos just talking about the
great things in our district.
We toured where the MichiganState Games are held the West
Michigan Sports Commissionfacility in Plainfield Township
a couple weeks ago Really someamazing things going on there.
I was able to secure a grantfrom the state for $3 million to
help them expand.
(17:11):
That.
It's really really not just aregional impact, but the
statewide People from all overthe state of Michigan come in.
We've got some really cooldrone shots about that what the
construction looks like.
We'll do some finals when it'sready to go this fall.
But showing people what kind ofthings that we stand for, why
this infrastructure is important, getting your kids to get
outside play, build competitivesports, learn about teamwork and
(17:34):
things like that those arelifelong skills and lessons that
they can carry with them.
Learn about teamwork and thingslike that those are lifelong
skills and lessons that they cancarry with them, obviously for
their whole life, and so that'spretty cool.
We do videos about things thatpeople probably don't know about
.
We just did one last week aboutthe Van Andel Institute and it
was a really special tour, atime to learn about what they do
in there and how it impacts ourstate, our country, but the
whole globe.
And what some of that researchmeans and some of the incredibly
(17:57):
sophisticated things like anelectron microscope that can't
quite see an electron but darnnear that can see like the
shadow of an electron on an atomand that kind of research that
makes a difference for diseasesthat we all know somebody who's
been afflicted by cancer orParkinson's, and the
philanthropy that goes into thatorganization and what it means
for mankind really is reallyimportant and it's right here,
(18:20):
right here in West Michigan.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
That is so special, we are so fortunate and lucky to
be in this area, and if folksdo want to learn more about you,
maybe if they have to, if theywant to reach out, you know, for
feedback, things like thatwhat's the best way to do that?
Speaker 3 (18:34):
Yep, you can find us online, just Google Mark
Heisinger, michigan Senate.
But, from a social mediaperspective, we're really out
there on most of the platforms,from X to Facebook to Instagram,
we try to talk about what kindof things we're voting on.
We try to do as much media aswe can to get out there and let
people know that we're workinghard for them every day.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Yes, and you guys do a wonderful job at that.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
Great, thank you.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Senator, thank you so much for all you've done for
West Michigan and for Walker andbeyond.
We do appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
It's my honor.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Thank you for tuning in.
Welcome to Made in Walker, a podcast that connects
you to the people, the storiesand the ideas shaping our
community, from local innovatorsto everyday changemakers.
We're diving deep into whatmakes Walker a great place to
live, work and grow.
Here's your host, nicoleDiDonato.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
We're talking about something that affects us all,
whether you're commuting to work, running a business or even
just walking the dog, and that'sinfrastructure.
And we're pleased to be joinedby Senator Mark Huizenga today,
someone who knows all too welland has worked very closely with
cities like Walker to get themthe resources they need in order
to grow.
Senator, thank you so much forjoining us today.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Yeah, glad to be here today.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
And let's kick things off with the Fruit Ridge Bridge
.
All of us see it is going on,but there has been a lot in the
background for years.
How were you finally able toget this off the ground for us?
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Well, I think it's important to think about the
historical context.
Back in 2017, when we wereworking on the FedEx facility,
then we were taking really thatlong view, and I always like to
do that because, you know, if welive in the moment, people will
say things fall apart.
But back in those days, I saidwe were talking about the Walker
Avenue Bridge.
We had plenty of infrastructurethere.
(01:22):
We had to do some work withsome on-ramps and things like
that, but it was going to beready for massive amounts of
trucks going in and out of there, and making sure that it's safe
for our regular residents andother people that are going to
work was really important to me.
And I asked the folks from MDOT.
I said so, what does it looklike with the Fruit Ridge Bridge
?
Because, as we continue to growthis area, we're going to need
(01:42):
more infrastructure and morebandwidth on that bridge.
And they said, well, we don'treally actually have plans for
anything right now.
And I said nothing.
And they said, well, actually,in 2024, we're planning on
putting a new deck on the bridge.
And I said save your money, man, this is a real problem.
I'm not a construction engineeror anything, but look when
(02:03):
you've got a five-lane road thatgoes to a two-lane bridge that
connects to a five-lane road.
That's probably a problem.
And so then, even then when Iwas mayor, we had conversations
about redoing some of the ductwork underneath there and
putting in culverts and thingsthat needed work, and I said I
think we should save our moneyand really play the long game
and make sure we get the fundingfor this.
(02:23):
And I said I think we shouldsave our money and really play
the long game and make sure weget the funding for this.
So we did work with the rightplace, with the local
transportation folks from MDOT.
We planned out what this thingcould look like, but the magic
issue was no funding.
And so even though there was aneed and it was clearly
demonstrated by this and withthe growth that we continue to
see in Walker through thatindustrial corridor there just
(02:44):
wasn't funding.
I had a chance to go toWashington DC and advocate for
this, to talk with folks fromthe Department of Transportation
.
We had a great video advocatingfor this and it just didn't
happen.
The current mayor, mayor Kerryhe went to Washington, also
advocated for it and during thatsame time when I was mayor, I
went to Lansing and advocatedfor the dollars.
It just didn't happen.
(03:05):
It wasn't until a couple ofyears ago that there was a
budget cycle and they needed myvote, and I said look, this is
the one thing that I've beenworking on for literally eight
years.
We absolutely have to do this,and so I was able to secure the
funding for that $25 million andit's a ton of money, but at the
end of the day, it's going tobe safer for everyone, it's
going to provide throughput fortruck traffic and allow for
(03:26):
development to continue to occur.
And, probably just as important, one of the things that people
probably don't think about isthe non-motorized trail aspect,
and so connecting the Muscatawa,the Fred Meyer Trail and this
network, that was really theweakest link.
I can tell you firsthand my sonwas doing a merit badge for Boy
Scouts and we were riding fromMuskegon back to our house in
(03:46):
Walker and had to ride over thatbridge, and I told him
afterwards.
I said we will do that once.
It is just too dangerous.
So seeing safe passageway andbuilding trails and
infrastructure is something I'velong been an advocate for.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
We are so, excuse me, grateful for you and just the
feedback that we're getting onsocial media other people have
pointed out there's nocomplaints.
There's very minimal complaintsabout this.
Everybody knows it was needed,and how does that feel to have a
major construction project thatpeople are like, yeah, we
support this.
It's nine months long, but wegot it.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Yeah, I know that's the bane of anybody who's
elected, I would say, is thatwhen the roads or bridges are
bad, we hear about it.
When we fix them, then peoplecomplain because it's detours
and things like that.
But for my office we've hadvery little complaints about it
as well, and I think people knowlike, hey, we can get through
the summer and by the time thefall comes around, the project,
last I heard is on target forcompletion, so that's good and
(04:40):
it's pretty close to being onbudget, which is also pretty
rare.
So we're very excited aboutthat.
You know these kinds ofinfrastructure projects are so
important.
I'll give you just one otherexample.
That is when we were working onthat FedEx.
We had a problem because thethe driveways didn't quite align
up the right way.
So if you're taking 96eastbound and getting off by
where the old Bob Evans wasthere we had to put in a new
(05:04):
signal and the problem was theroads didn't align.
And so we were there havingbreakfast and talking about it
and the folks I was with said,well, we can't do it now.
But, nicole, I was on theplanning commission for six
years.
We know that safety is a hugedeal and if we align those
intersections and play the longgame, it's going to make a big
difference.
Now nobody will probably noticethat right now, but during that
(05:26):
time I said, guys, we have totry.
We have to try to make thiswork.
And so they said there's threethings that are wrong with this.
Number one, that off ramps atMDOT property project we don't
have the funding for that.
Two, that property that theyneed to align, that it isn't
ours.
And three, timing-wise, the waythis is going to go with all
the trucks that are going tocome through there.
It wasn't going to work forthem.
(05:48):
So I said we have to try.
So I talked to the folks atMeijer and they said, boy, if
you can make this happen, mark,we'll deed this to the city, to
MDOT or whoever needs this,because it Because it's better
for our people that work here,it's going to be safer and for
our truck traffic.
And so it was just a greatexample of working together.
We got a grant from MDOT to dothat work there and the signals
(06:08):
went in and when it wascompleted it was basically
seamless.
So no one really knows thatstory, but it's that long-term
thinking that I think is reallyso important in infrastructure
in West Michigan, absolutely andyour ability to work with
everybody and to come up with afinal solution.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
that is huge.
Yeah, and we were speaking alsoabout some other infrastructure
changes.
One of the biggest thingsduring your tenure as City of
Walker, mayor, was the tunnelunder M45 Lake Michigan Drive
there.
What can you tell us about thatwith the Standale-Meyer Trail?
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Yeah, that's a really interesting project because
trails are so important.
It's one of those things wheresafety is also paramount.
Of course, we want safepassageway and we received a
grant from the state for thatand the dollars came in too high
.
It was going to be a veryexpensive project, of course,
extremely complicated.
Putting a tunnel of that sizeunder a super busy road like M45
(07:05):
is hard, expensive and verydisruptive.
And folks in the city said Iguess we're not gonna be able to
do this.
And my comment back was do youthink it's going to be less
expensive in the future if wepostpone it?
Do you think it'll be thatgrant will be available in the
future if we don't do it rightnow?
And if we don't do it now, arewe going to put people in harm's
way?
And of course, you know theanswer to all those.
And so we tried, and we triedreally hard and we raised money
(07:28):
from all sorts of philanthropicsources, including the Meyer
Foundation they were great aswell as other organizations
around the state, and one of thebest stories of that is that an
organization that I requested agrant from, they said you know,
huizinga, we're going to haveto check this out and make sure
this is valid.
Look, we like you and trust you.
But you know, trust but verify.
So they sent a crew out thereand they were taking a look at
(07:50):
it and they called me afterwardsand said man, mark, this is so
needed.
We are happy to support this.
He said we were watching peopletrying to traverse M45, and he
said it was like theold-fashioned arcade game of
Frogger, where these people aregoing around dodging the cars.
And he told me he said we wereactually worried that we were
going to see somebody get hit.
And he said somebody almost did.
So.
(08:11):
No greater testimony than thatthe project was disruptive.
But again, now that it's there,people actually love it.
And you know, an interestingstory was I had a developer ask
me Mark, are you guys reallygoing to do that tunnel?
And I said, yeah, we are.
We expect it to be completed onsuch and such a date.
And we got done talking.
I said, look, I just have toask why.
Why is it that you even careabout the tunnel?
(08:32):
And he said, oh, it's actuallysuper important for development
because the radius of impact fora project like this makes it
easier for us to do our projects.
Radius of impact for a projectlike this makes it easier for us
to do our projects, whetherit's housing, apartments or what
have you.
It's really important.
So sometimes I think it getslost for those of us in local
government and, at the time, orstate government to know how
(08:53):
important these infrastructureprojects are for the people that
we serve and for thedevelopments that people want to
live in.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
So far-reaching even for visitors who are coming into
the community.
So I was one of those folksthat would sometimes I would go
to the corner of Kinney, try tocross.
Other times I would try to dartacross Lake Michigan Drive.
So from someone who lovedwalking in the area, it's a
wonderful investment, yeah andif you've ridden on it it's
pretty seamless.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
People say like gosh, I don't even really know, I'm
driving underneath a super busyroad like this?
Oh, not at all it feels sereneand it's kind of tucked in there
, it is it is you don't hearanything about that.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
One of the things that we were hearing as well
wanted to throw in with theproposed possibility of an
aquarium coming to South Walker.
We know that the infrastructurethere would need to be upgraded
.
A lot of folks, probably duringyour tenure and beyond, have
been asking about the wideningof M11, wilson.
What could we expect in thefuture with Wilson?
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Well, no secret, m11 is one of those areas where the
state has actually done a prettygood job of expanding it where
it needs to be expanded.
But on the flip side, if youdrive that way from the Grand
River towards Dandale or towardsCity Hall, the road goes from
five lanes to four lanes tothree lanes, to three lanes, to
(10:10):
four lanes to five lanes andback and forth.
And they did that because therejust simply wasn't funding.
I'm hopeful that we see aninfrastructure package come
through the House and Senate.
The House package actuallylooks pretty good and really a
couple billion dollars that aresorely needed for projects
around the state are on thetable, and I've been advocating
for this Wilson project probablyas long as I advocated for the
(10:33):
Fruit Ridge Bridge almost, butwe know it's needed.
The interesting thing is thatthe right-of-way that's needed
for the widening through therealready exists, so they don't
have to do property acquisitionor other complex things like
that.
And then you couple that with amassive regional or super
regional project like theaquarium.
If that happens, we're going toneed a lot of money to make
(10:56):
sure that works, from off-rampredesign to on-ramp redesign,
probably some work at thatbridge and even some work for
access in and out of thataquarium.
But of course people are goingto travel from north of Michigan
, from the south, and taking M45from Ottawa County or elsewhere
connecting to M11 to the south.
(11:17):
That's all going to beimportant.
So I actually put in a requestthis year, last year and the
year before for a huge amount ofmoney to widen that road.
We'll continue to work for thatevery year.
It's really our top priority,not only for future growth.
But here's the thing peopleoftentimes forget why is this
area so important?
Well, what's the next crossingonto the west side?
(11:41):
If you go north on the river,the next bridge that crosses
that is Wealthy Street.
And if you think about it, ifyou go down river, if you travel
to the west, where's the nextone?
It's out in Allendale.
So there's a huge amount oftraffic that's going to continue
to grow that way.
Allendale is a veryheavy-growing area Talmadge,
township, walker, and guess what?
(12:02):
That's the primary way that alot of people get in and out of
the city.
So building that infrastructurewill be important for all of us
and I'll continue to advocatefor that one.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
And supporting cities like Walker and their growth,
whether it's broadband andinfrastructure and such.
You know we hear what you kindof do behind the scenes.
Why is that so important forresidents to know what is going
on in Lansing on behalf of youknow folks who want to live and
work in areas like this.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Sure.
So I think probably the bestexample of that is roads.
And why are roads importantroads?
And why are roads important Tothe average resident of Walker
or Kent County or anywhere in mydistrict?
Our residents don't know ordon't care, nor should they care
, if they're riding on a cityroad, a county road or a state
road.
They just want the roads andinfrastructure to be good.
(12:51):
They want safe passageway, theywant to move without heavy
traffic, and so that means thatwe have to work across a broad
variety of governmental agenciesand couple that with federal
agencies about policies and whatmakes that work.
But working towards those goalsmeans that we work with the
county folks, the state folksKent County Road Commission,
ottawa County Road Commission.
I meet with those folks on aregular basis and we meet with
(13:14):
MDOT on a regular basis to findout what kind of projects they
have, what kind of things we cando.
And you know, I think it's oneof our jobs as these so-called
boots on the ground, meetingwith constituents on a regular
basis to identify what theirpinch points are, what problems
they see, and that's really thebest way we can advocate.
Representing the people is whatwe're supposed to do.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Yeah, absolutely.
And then kind of going back tothe big economic engine, really
Northridge, the industrial area,and again how Fruit Ridge was
so integral in helping that growtoo.
Where do you see that kind ofcoming up and is part of the
region as well?
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Well, you know it's interesting, when that FedEx
facility was being designed andI was working with the
developers on that project, theyonly wanted to extend that
Northridge Road to the FedExfacility.
And I said to them guys, anychance we can extend this out to
Bristol, to the east?
And they said we really don'thave any plans to do that.
(14:09):
It's expensive.
Just because you see vacantland out there doesn't mean it's
developable or even availablefor industrial usage like we
have there.
And so we worked with complextax strategies, called a 425
agreement, where the propertyactually is under the Grand
Rapids tax rolls.
And they did that because theycould access brownfield tax
(14:30):
credits and that meant thatthose tax credits would be used
for the developers to put thatroad in.
Now it was wildly successful.
I thought that would probably be10 or 15 years before it was
fully developed, but boy, just afew years into it we saw just a
massive amount of employerscome in that area and pretty
soon I saw the opportunity tosay look, we also have to extend
(14:53):
this because industrial growth,warehousing, manufacturing is
key to West Michigan, but theyneed a place to land.
So we did exactly the same thingto the west.
We worked on extendingNorthridge off to Fruit Ridge.
Now there was a little sectionwhere it went to a cul-de-sac,
but there was a massive amountof property in the middle, lots
of property owners, and if yougo back and talk to staff that
(15:16):
were there during that time,there were contentious moments
about like how do we, how do wework with landowners?
We're not going to do eminentdomain, we're not taking
anything over, but we work withdevelopers to create
infrastructure and a place forbusinesses to come in and land
and be successful.
And that area too continues todevelop massively.
I mean thousands and thousandsof jobs brought right here to
(15:38):
Walker, close to home.
And also, I guess the otherthing I'd say is that this strip
of property is different andset aside from where the
residents live, which I think isreally important and great too.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Yes, yeah, and you know your just ability to be
able to work with everybody andbe able to kind of come to a
single conclusion that works, asingle conclusion that works for
everyone.
What?
What is the secret to that, youknow?
Speaker 3 (16:00):
You know, I would say that consensus building is so
important and finding ways toget to yes.
And I think a lot of that comesfrom the six years that I spent
on the Walker PlanningCommission.
Because planning is hard,because no one likes change,
myself included.
Nobody wants anything in theirbackyard, but sometimes it's
(16:21):
about persuading and showing thedetails about how we're going
to stand up and protect whatthey have, making sure that
their assets, their home ortheir property or business isn't
going to be adversely affectedby this new change.
And if you can demonstrate awin-win, that's how we get
things done.
And you know it's not alwayseasy, but the hard work it's
really never easy, I would say.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Yeah but rewarding, I'm sure, when you get to, you
know, get feedback from people.
Yes, yes, and you do awonderful job with social media.
So if people want to find youand follow up with you, what
types of stuff do you displaythere?
Speaker 3 (16:51):
You know we do a lot of videos just talking about the
great things in our district.
We toured where the MichiganState Games are held the West
Michigan Sports Commissionfacility in Plainfield Township
a couple weeks ago Really someamazing things going on there.
I was able to secure a grantfrom the state for $3 million to
help them expand.
(17:11):
That.
It's really really not just aregional impact, but the
statewide People from all overthe state of Michigan come in.
We've got some really cooldrone shots about that what the
construction looks like.
We'll do some finals when it'sready to go this fall.
But showing people what kind ofthings that we stand for, why
this infrastructure is important, getting your kids to get
outside play, build competitivesports, learn about teamwork and
(17:34):
things like that those arelifelong skills and lessons that
they can carry with them.
Learn about teamwork and thingslike that those are lifelong
skills and lessons that they cancarry with them, obviously for
their whole life, and so that'spretty cool.
We do videos about things thatpeople probably don't know about
.
We just did one last week aboutthe Van Andel Institute and it
was a really special tour, atime to learn about what they do
in there and how it impacts ourstate, our country, but the
whole globe.
And what some of that researchmeans and some of the incredibly
(17:57):
sophisticated things like anelectron microscope that can't
quite see an electron but darnnear that can see like the
shadow of an electron on an atomand that kind of research that
makes a difference for diseasesthat we all know somebody who's
been afflicted by cancer orParkinson's, and the
philanthropy that goes into thatorganization and what it means
for mankind really is reallyimportant and it's right here,
(18:20):
right here in West Michigan.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
That is so special, we are so fortunate and lucky to
be in this area, and if folksdo want to learn more about you,
maybe if they have to, if theywant to reach out, you know, for
feedback, things like thatwhat's the best way to do that?
Speaker 3 (18:34):
Yep, you can find us online, just Google Mark
Heisinger, michigan Senate.
But, from a social mediaperspective, we're really out
there on most of the platforms,from X to Facebook to Instagram,
we try to talk about what kindof things we're voting on.
We try to do as much media aswe can to get out there and let
people know that we're workinghard for them every day.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Yes, and you guys do a wonderful job at that.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
Great, thank you.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Senator, thank you so much for all you've done for
West Michigan and for Walker andbeyond.
We do appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
It's my honor.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Thank you for tuning in.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Betrayal Season 5
Saskia Inwood woke up one morning, knowing her life would never be the same. The night before, she learned the unimaginable – that the husband she knew in the light of day was a different person after dark. This season unpacks Saskia’s discovery of her husband’s secret life and her fight to bring him to justice. Along the way, we expose a crime that is just coming to light. This is also a story about the myth of the “perfect victim:” who gets believed, who gets doubted, and why. We follow Saskia as she works to reclaim her body, her voice, and her life. If you would like to reach out to the Betrayal Team, email us at betrayalpod@gmail.com. Follow us on Instagram @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.