Saginaw Infrastructure
Saginaw County Transportation
Highway Interstate 75 bisects Saginaw County as well as the country, linking the Canadian and Mexican markets. Eight major state highways also pass through the county providing direct links to all of Michigan’s major cities as well as northern vacation destinations with a competitive highway freight transit environment. According to U.S. Census Bureau, there are 124 Transportation and Warehousing businesses in Saginaw County that includes 81 Truck Transportation companies.
Rail in Saginaw
Class I rail transit is available for the U.S., Canada and Mexico through CSX Transportation Inc. and regional carriers, such as Saginaw Bay Southern & Lake State Railway, provide interstate rail service.
Saginaw County Airports
Three airports are located in the county with MBS International Airport being the largest. MBS is serviced by Northwest Airlines and United Airlines. The carriers link to major hubs in Detroit, Chicago, New York and Minneapolis. The airport, located in a rural setting, provided air travel services to 267,436 people in 2009. The airport’s cargo transit routes are key supply linkages and distribution paths for many area businesses. MBS had 197,825 pounds of air carried cargo in 2009. Allegiant Air also provides nonstop seasonal travel between Orlando-Sanford International Airport and MBS.
New Terminal for MBS
Airport planners have launched the design phase of a $48 million project to build a new, larger terminal building at the airport. The new building, about 75,000 square feet or 10,000 square feet larger than the existing structure, is expected to be complete by 2012, and funded mostly by state and federal grants.
There also will be a new entrance and parking lot. Dow Corning Corp. has already built a new, larger private hangar for its two corporate jets that fly out of MBS.
A recent research study indicated that MBS International Airport adds $100 million a year to the region’s economy. It includes wages, salaries, tax receipts, commerce and investment that are in part or wholly linked to MBS. Almost 1,000 people are employed at the airport and in related jobs in the area. Regional leaders have also begun seeking funds to develop Garfield Rd., which is the main thoroughfare between the airport and US-10.
Additional charter and fixed wing base services are provided in Saginaw County by Harry W. Browne Airport in Buena Vista Charter Township, which features a new Instrument Landing System and the William Tiny Zehnder Field in Frankenmuth.
Mass Transit
The Saginaw Transit Authority Regional Services (STARS) main terminal is located at 615 Johnson St. in the City of Saginaw. STARS is a public transportation system for the Urbanized Saginaw Area, which travels about 1.5 million miles per year and operates daily including Saturdays. Over 2,700 people utilize Saginaw buses each day for work, doctor visits, shopping or school. STARS also serves as an effective solution to mobility challenged citizens. Annually, over 48,000 senior citizens and persons with disabilities utilize its LIFT service.
Greyhound Bus also has a Downtown Saginaw location. Founded in 1914, Greyhound Lines, Inc. is the largest provider of intercity bus transportation, serving more than 2,300 destinations with 13,000 daily departures across North America. It has become an American icon, providing safe, enjoyable and affordable travel to nearly 25 million passengers each year. In addition, Greyhound has interline partnerships with a number of independent bus lines across the United States. These bus companies provide complementary service to Greyhound Lines' existing schedules and link to many of the smaller towns in Greyhound Lines' national route system.
Saginaw River Port Facilities
The Saginaw River shipping channel provides linkage from commercial port facilities in the county to the St. Lawrence Seaway and ultimately to the Atlantic Ocean. A variety of resources are shipped on the channel including coal, sand, limestone, grain, petroleum products, and cement. Over 30 cargo port docks along the Saginaw River channel provide access to the shipping channel. To accommodate commerce, the upper portion of the Saginaw River that services Saginaw County has been dredged. The Saginaw River is the State of Michigan’s eighth largest port by cargo volume with about 4.6 million tons of river commerce annually, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation.
In summary, Saginaw County is endowed with an inter-modal infrastructure network that features 81 truck lines, four railroad companies, three airports, two airline carriers that connect to major national hubs, and over 30 port facilities that link with the St. Lawrence Seaway, Saginaw’s inter-modal infrastructure can assist any business in servicing the world.