MCRC Honored with 4 Statewide IMPRESS Awards
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Mason County Road Commission
honored with
Four Statewide IMPRESS Awards!
LANSING, MI – The Mason County Road Commission (MCRC) was honored with three statewide IMPRESS Awards and a coveted People’s Choice Award at the 2025 County Road Association (CRA) of Michigan Highway Conference held in late March in Lansing. IMPRESS Awards recognize county road agencies that demonstrate innovation on noteworthy projects in three categories: Communications, Operations and Collaboration.
This year, Mason County received IMPRESS Awards in:
- COLLABORATION for the South Bayou Culvert Project, completed in partnership with Hamlin Township and supported by a $1 million Community Enhancement Grant.
- COMMUNICATIONS for its “Ride Along” bus tour that brought community members closer to its road projects. This entry was also awarded a People’s Choice Award, by a popular vote of road agency convention attendees.
- OPERATIONS for the timely replacement of the Middle Bayou Bridge, beam and deck, completed within 90 days before seasonal plant closures.
“Mason County Road Commission’s dedication to excellence across multiple domains is inspiring,” said Denise Donohue, CRA CEO. “Their innovative approaches in collaboration, community outreach and operational efficiency set a high standard for county road agencies. Their enthusiasm for their work is also very evident.”
The South Bayou Culvert project overcame funding challenges through strategic partnerships, the bus tour increased public engagement, and the rapid bridge replacement minimized service interruptions.
An independent panel of communications and operations experts from several of Michigan’s 83 county road agencies judged all IMPRESS Awards submissions. Award recipients were honored for projects that solved issues both internally for their agencies and externally for their communities.
The 83 members of the County Road Association of Michigan represent the unified voice for a safe and efficient county transportation infrastructure system in Michigan, including appropriate stewardship of the public’s right-of-way in rural and urban Michigan. Collectively, Michigan’s county road agencies manage 75% of all roads in the state, including 90,500 miles of roads and 5,900 bridges. County road agencies also maintain the state’s highway system in 63 counties. Michigan has the nation’s fourth-largest local road system.
Pictured above from left: Jeff Conkin, MCRC commissioner; Heather Braginton, MCRC finance director; Deborah Del Zoppo, MCRC commissioner; Eric Nelson, MCRC county highway engineer; Steve Wessels, MCRC managing director; Joshua Bader, MCRC engineer tech; Ted Weinert, MCRC mapping technician; Joshua Peters, MCRC county foreman; and Jody Baunoch, MCRC administrative assistant.