If you’re taking your electric vehicle on a road trip, by now you know how important it is to plan your route based on available charging stations. Governor Tony Evers joined three Midwest governors in announcing a collaboration to build “America’s next iconic road trip route, specifically for electric vehicles”. Lake Michigan Circle Tour is a scenic route that follows state highways around Lake Michigan through Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Now, a network of EV chargers will cover its 1,100 miles of drivable shoreline.
This plan is strategic in its placement of chargers. Charger installation will be at key coastal communities, lighthouses, and tourism attractions along the route. As they are building out this network, they are also tying the new chargers together with existing charging infrastructure networks in heavily populated cities with large entertainment attractions. The network is expected to be fully connected within the next few years and parts of it are already in operation.
Charger installation along the Lake Michigan EV Circuit Tour comes after the placement of new charging stations at state parks along Lake Michigan from this past May.
This collaboration will make the coastal communities in these Midwestern states more accessible to EV drivers. They will also advance clean energy and electrified transportation goals, lower emissions, and spur economic growth. EV charging station access should be encouraged along other scenic routes and high-traffic tourism destinations. EV drivers will be incentivized to road trip to the spots where they know they can charge along their route, thus encouraging travel in these areas and reducing the ever-still-present range anxiety.