Project to begin in 2024

By Jim Newell

Review Editor

ORION TWP. — Orion Township will receive $7 million in federal funding to help rehabilitate Giddings, Silverbell and Brown roads around the GM Orion Assembly plant while the auto manufacturer is expanding plant operations.

Orion Township received $7 million in Fiscal Year 2023 U.S. House Appropriations Committee Community Project Funding to go towards the project, the township announced last week.

General Motors Co. announced in January 2022 that the auto manufacturer will invest more than $7 billion in four Michigan manufacturing sites, including $4 billion in the GM Orion plant.

Orion Assembly will become the second U.S. plant building Chevrolet Silverado EV and electric GMC Sierra and GM will convert the plant for the production of full-size EV pickups.

The investment is part of GM’s effort to lead in the electric vehicle (EV) industry. By the end of 2025, GM wants to have more than 1 million units of electric vehicle capacity in North America, according to the company.

The investment is expected to create 2,350 new jobs and retain 1,000 other jobs at the Orion plant.

In April 2022, Orion Township submitted a $7 million funding request to Slotkin’s Office as part of the 2023 Community Project Funding program.

Of the more than 90 applications submitted, the Giddings/Silverbell/Brown Road project was one of 15 selected by Slotkin for recommendation to the House Appropriations Committee for final funding consideration.

“We have been partnering with the road commission and Auburn Hills for several years now seeking the necessary funding to fix the roads along this significant corridor,” said Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett. “With the $7 million awarded through the Community Project Funding program, we now have over $12 million in funding dedicated for this project, which RCOC has slated for construction in 2024.”

The Giddings/Siverlbell/Brown roads project will reconstruct 2.6 miles of the corridor surrounding the GM Orion Assembly Plant. The five-lane road will be designed to withstand the weight of 3,000 commercial trucks and over 18,000 vehicles per day.

The roads along this corridor are past their service life and will be completely removed and replaced with pavement and sub-base, along with most drainage sewer structures such as curb, gutter, drains, catch basins, according to the township.

Signals and pedestrian crosswalks will be updated and 18,275 feet of new safety path will be constructed.

In addition to the Orion Assembly Plant, the corridor supports other large employers in the area, including FedEx, Eagle Valley Landfill, Gardner White Furniture, JR Automation (Esys), Natrabis, Powers Distributing, Roush Industries, and Asea Brown Boveri Ltd (ABB), Barnett’s office said.

“Our office received over 90 applications for Community Project Funding, and it is a testament to Supervisor Barnett and his team’s work that their project was selected,” Slotkin said. “The community and our District will directly benefit from their efforts.”

“We truly appreciate Congresswoman Slotkin’s support for this project,” Barnett said. “She has been a true champion for Orion Township as our Congressional Representative in D.C., and I have valued our growing partnership over the past two years. I look forward to seeing her continued success as the Representative for Michigan’s 8th district and the communities she serves.”

GM estimates the new jobs at Orion will be filled by a combination of GM transferees and new hires. Electric truck production, including the Chevrolet Silverado EV and electric GMC Sierra, will begin in Orion in 2024.