Statewide statewide

The Federal Highway Administration awarded Michigan Department of Transportation $768,000 through the Highway Planning and Construction program (CFDA 20.205) on September 19, 2025, for the FY 2026 TRAC (Transportation, Roads, and Careers) Program. This statewide educational outreach initiative serves grades 6-12 and delivers hands-on instructional modules designed to enhance existing classroom curricula in mathematics, science, and social science. The program utilizes eight core modules—including Bridge Builder, Highway Development and the Environment, Physics of Highway Safety, Magnetic Levitation, Motion and the Transportation Engineer, Roadway Design and Construction, Traffic Technology, and Connected Automated Vehicles—to engage students in solving real-world transportation problems while connecting them to industry careers.

Beyond classroom instruction, the TRAC Program expands its impact through partnerships with four Michigan universities offering accredited civil engineering programs, creating scholarship opportunities and integrating the modules into summer engineering camps and higher education curricula. The program also administers a Michigan Design and Build Bridge Challenge for participating schools and operates a competitive internship pipeline program targeting 12th-grade students. Selected interns receive hourly stipends, mentorship from MDOT engineers, and seven weeks of practical work experience in road and bridge design, construction inspection, soil investigation, and traffic safety. The grant period extends through September 30, 2031, supporting sustained workforce development in Michigan's transportation construction industry.

Project description

FY 2026 trac program (10/1/2025-9/30/2026) - the trac program is a 6TH thru 12TH grade educational outreach program designed to bring high-level, quality, hands-on tools into the classroom to enhance teacher's existing curriculum in the areas of math, science, and social science activities. Mdots trac program utilizes the following modules: bridge builder, highway development and the environment, the physics of highway safety, magnetic levitation, motion and the transportation engineer, roadway design and construction, traffic technology, connected automated vehicles. These modules engage students in solving real-world problems while connecting them to the work world of transportation. The trac curriculum is aligned with the national education standards for math, science, english, and social science. As expanded activities, the trac program has created partnerships with square one and four michigan universities that offer accredited civil engineering programs (creating scholarship opportunities and use of the modules during summer engineering camps and within the higher education curriculum) and offers a michigan design and build bridge challenge for all participating trac schools. The program is designed to increase the awareness of available careers in the transportation construction industry in michigan by engaging 12TH grade high school students. This element focuses on engineering and transportation fields through practical work experience. To be eligible for the trac internship/pipeline program, a participant must successfully complete at least one module in the trac program. The trac internship/pipeline program interns will be selected through a competitive process, paid an hourly stipend, and will be assigned mentors who are seasoned MDOT engineers. For seven weeks, these students are exposed to and will learn road and bridge design, construction inspection, soil investigation, traffic and safety planning, and material testing skills. Statewide