Senator Mark Huizinga, a member of the Michigan Senate and former Walker mayor, said on the Made in Walker podcast that he secured $25,000,000 in funding for the Fruit Ridge Bridge and discussed several other local infrastructure projects intended to improve safety and support economic growth in Walker.

Huizinga said the Fruit Ridge Bridge project addresses a safety and capacity mismatch where a five-lane road funnels to a two-lane bridge, and that the funding will “provide throughput for truck traffic and allow for development to continue to occur.” He also said the project includes provisions to improve nonmotorized access and connect the Fred Meijer Trail.

The bridge funding was one of several examples Huizinga used to illustrate his long-term approach to infrastructure. He described the M-45 tunnel and trail underpass project as a safety improvement that required a mix of state grants and philanthropic support, including a contribution from the Meijer Foundation. “We were actually worried that we're gonna see somebody get hit,” Huizinga said of the crossing before the tunnel was built, adding that observers likened pedestrian crossings there to “the old fashioned arcade game of Frogger, where these people are going around dodging the cars.”

Huizinga also discussed efforts to widen M-11 (Wilson) to improve vehicle flow around Walker. He said right-of-way already exists for widening along the corridor and that he has requested state funding over multiple years; he described the project as a continuing priority pending a larger infrastructure package in the legislature. He noted the potential additional traffic impacts if a proposed aquarium is built in South Walker and said off-ramp and on-ramp redesigns would likely be needed for major regional attractions.

On economic development, Huizinga described how the Northridge industrial area and a FedEx facility were developed with tax strategies that enabled private investment in roads and utilities. He said those projects helped attract employers and that extending Northridge and connections to Fruit Ridge enabled further industrial growth without using eminent domain.

Huizinga also mentioned a $3,000,000 state grant he secured for the West Michigan Sports Commission facility expansion and said his office uses social media and regular constituent meetings to advocate for local infrastructure priorities in Lansing. He directed listeners seeking more information to search for “Mark Huizinga, Michigan Senate” for contact details and updates.

The remarks were delivered in an interview format on the Made in Walker podcast hosted by Nicole DeDonato.