by Scott McClallen
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer awarded a $790,000 state Transportation Economic Development Fund grant to upgrade Shelby Road in Oceana County to an all-seasons roadway, which will allow Perdue Farms and Peterson Farms expand their businesses.
The grant will support what the governor’s office claims will create 128 new jobs at a cost of $6,171 per job.
“Fixing our roads and bridges drives economic activity and ensures people can go to work, drop their kids off at school, and run errands safely,” Whitmer said in a statement. “Since I took office, we have fixed over 16,000 lane miles of road and more than 1,200 bridges, supporting 89,000 construction jobs.
The TEDF grant helps finance public highway, road, and street projects critical to the movement of people and products, and getting workers to their jobs, materials to growers and manufacturers, and finished goods to consumers. The road project submitted by the Oceana County Road Commission will support investment and job creation for Perdue Farms, LLC and Peterson Farms, Inc.
Perdue Farms is the parent company of Perdue Foods and Perdue AgriBusiness, based in Salisbury, Maryland. Perdue Foods is a major chicken, turkey, and pork processing company in the United States and is branching out into a pet treat division that will produce fresh pet treats and food. Perdue Farms is purchasing and renovating the previous Oceana Food plant, which is currently closed, located on 1st Street.
Oceana County Road Commission director Mark Timmer said the new project would help create jobs.
“Rebuilding this road to all season standards will allow Peterson Farms, Inc. to expand their apple slicing production in Shelby Township and create 29 new jobs,” Timmer said in a statement. “It also will allow Perdue Farms to establish a plant in the Village of Shelby, produce premium grade pet treats and create 99 new jobs. Shelby Road at the US 31 Freeway is a major access point for Oceana County for semi-trucks traveling to and from Peterson Farms, Inc., other area businesses, and eventually Perdue Farms. Employees of Peterson Farms, Inc., Perdue Farms, local businesses, truck drivers, citizens in the area and tourists will all benefit from this collaborative project.”
Peterson Farms is headquartered in Shelby and is a market leader in the United States producing fresh and frozen fruits. Their main fruit production is apples, blueberries, cherries, applesauce, and bottled juices.
Both companies identified the roads as a barrier to business expansion.
“Having proper infrastructure in place is an important element of maximizing the efficiency of our operations,” Ryan Perdue, vice president and general manager of Perdue’s Pet Business, said in a statement. “These road improvements in and around the Village of Shelby will help meet the needs of our facility, benefit those living and working in the surrounding areas, and further enable our contributions to Michigan’s important agricultural industry.”
First Street will have the asphalt surface milled and repaved from State Street to the west village limits. Shelby Road will be crushed, shaped, and repaved to all season standards from the west village limits of Shelby to 64th Avenue. A new right turn lane will also be constructed to accommodate the traffic increases, provide protected turn movements, lessen delays, and improve safety.
Shelby Village Administrator Brady Selner said the new business is a “massive investment.”
“The road improvement on First Street will allow Perdue Farms to proceed with the renovation of a former food processing facility in the Village of Shelby, which will result in the creation of 99 new full-time jobs over the next three years,” Selner said in a statement.
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Scott McClallen is a staff writer covering Michigan and Minnesota for The Center Square. A graduate of Hillsdale College, his work has appeared on Forbes.com and FEE.org. Previously, he worked as a financial analyst at Pepsi.
Photo “Gretchen Whitmer” by Office of the Governor, State of Michigan. CC BY-SA 3.0. Background Photo “Michigan Roads” by Dwight Burdette. CC BY 3.0.
