GREENLAND \u2014 State officials are celebrating what they’re calling a “historic infrastructure investment” after the Michigan Department of Transportation announced it will spend $120,000 paving an existing carpool lot at the intersection of M-38 and M-26 in Ontonagon County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The nearly three-week project, which began this week and is expected to conclude July 20, is projected to directly and indirectly support one job, a statistic state officials described as “a testament to Michigan’s unwavering commitment to workforce development.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Economic analysts say the lone position could increase Ontonagon County’s rush-hour traffic by nearly 50 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This isn’t just a parking lot,” one MDOT spokesperson proclaimed. “It’s an investment in the future.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It’s difficult to put a price tag on progress… but in this case, it happened to be exactly $120,000.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Life-Changing Improvements<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Residents say the upgraded lot will dramatically improve their daily routines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’ve been waiting years for a smoother place to park my truck before driving my other truck,” one Greenland resident explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another resident said the new pavement would finally allow him to experience “the luxury of standing on asphalt instead of gravel while waiting for nobody.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Transportation planners predict the lot could someday accommodate as many as four pickup trucks simultaneously, a milestone some are already referring to as “the busiest transportation hub west of Houghton.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officials also hinted the paved lot could someday host community events including bake sales, flea markets, and emergency meetings whenever somebody spots a moose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Groundbreaking Ceremony Nearly Goes Unnoticed<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A ceremonial groundbreaking was scheduled to commemorate the project, with invitations sent to officials throughout state government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Representatives from Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s office were among those invited to attend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to sources, the invitations never made it onto anyone’s calendar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Staff members reportedly assumed Ontonagon was located in another state and concluded the invitations had been delivered to the governor’s office by mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We thought maybe it was somewhere in Ontario,” one staff member allegedly admitted. “Or perhaps Montana. Either way, we figured somebody else should handle it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The invitations were reportedly discarded before anyone thought to consult a map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Economic Boom Expected<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Local leaders are optimistic the project will usher in a new era of prosperity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several businesses are already preparing for increased traffic generated by motorists stopping to admire the fresh pavement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One entrepreneur announced tentative plans to open a concession stand selling coffee, beef jerky, and commemorative “I Parked at the Ontonagon Carpool Lot” bumper stickers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tourism officials estimate visitors could remain parked long enough to generate “minutes of economic activity.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Supporting One Job… Impressively<\/p>\n\n\n\n
State officials emphasized that supporting a single job should not be underestimated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“If you think about it,” one official explained, “that’s one more job than zero.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The employee expected to benefit from the project reportedly issued a brief statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I appreciate everyone’s support,” he said. “I’m looking forward to my few weeks of employment and the lifelong bragging rights that come with being the entire economic impact study.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As construction continues, residents are encouraged to remain patient while the existing lot is closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many say the temporary inconvenience is well worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After all, opportunities to witness a $120,000 investment supporting one job don’t come along every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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GREENLAND \u2014 State officials are celebrating what they’re calling a “historic infrastructure investment” after the Michigan Department of Transportation announced it will spend $120,000 paving an existing carpool lot at the intersection of M-38 and M-26 in Ontonagon County. The nearly three-week project, which began this week and is expected to conclude July 20, is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[31],"class_list":["post-166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-greenland"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dailypasty.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ontonagonparknride.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailypasty.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailypasty.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailypasty.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailypasty.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailypasty.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=166"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailypasty.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":168,"href":"https:\/\/dailypasty.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166\/revisions\/168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailypasty.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailypasty.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailypasty.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailypasty.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}