Believe me I know what you're thinking, "Looks like a bunch of dirt piles, barrels and sticks to me!"

But be patience my friends, our contractor, C & G Myers of Milford, and the LCRC staff are on the job and with a little good weather and perseverance this project will progress nicely.

From the pictures you can see that dirt is being moved and the project is being layed out by the survey crew. You can even see the center island already taking shape.

The roundabout will be a single lane facility, similar to the Kensington and Jacoby intersection located by the General Motors Proving Grounds.

The construction began on June 15, 2009. The intersection of Hamburg Road at Winans Lake Road is presently closed and traffic is being detoured. Access for Van Antwerp Road is via Hamburg Court. The contractor has installed detour signs and a copy of the detour route is available on our website.

Motorist are advised to except delays and to avoid the area if possible.  We know that construction can be difficult and appreciate your patiences and cooperation.  We anticipate the intersection will reopen by mid-August.

As more information and pictures become available the webpage will be updated, so check back often!

Drive safely and have a great summer.

The LCRC Staff

The issue has come to the forefront recently, as both township and Livingston County Road Commission revenue dollars continue to dwindle.

Meanwhile, 42 percent of the county's roads are rated in "fair to poor" condition, according to a presentation at Thursday road commission meeting by Managing Director Mike Craine.

Most recently, the funding issue has come to light on county primary roads, normally the most significant roadways in a township. They make up 25 percent of the county's road system, but many complain they're in the worst condition of all county roads, Craine said. Townships aren't responsible for funding any primary road improvements.

The county — which is at the bottom of the state for return of gas tax-funding dollars — essentially relies on the generosity of townships to get the projects done, Craine said. Some townships, like Oceola and Cohoctah, plan to fund entire primary road projects. Deerfield Township meanwhile, has offered to pay only half of the costs of an upcoming project.

"Is that fair?" Commissioner John Dunleavy asked Thursday. Dunleavy noted there isn't a set policy to prioritize county road dollars for primary road projects.

Craine said he hopes to meet with the county's 16 townships next year to discuss how to reach equitable agreements with townships that choose to contribute to the projects. "I think it's a conversation that's way overdue with our townships," Craine said.

Commission Chairman David Peckens said setting such a policy could open a "can of worms" by holding the commission to a set standard for all primary road projects.

Hamburg Township Supervisor Pat Hohl, a longtime critic of township-funded projects on county roads, said the county doesn't receive its fair share of state gas tax dollars from Lansing. "I don't think that the counties are properly funded through the state and my statement has always been at the board table that this is a state issue," Hohl said.

The road funding issue came to a head at Thursday's meeting, when the commission board considered approval of an agreement with Cohoctah for $100,000 in improvements to portions of Hayner, Fleming and Gannon roads. Just after the agreement was sent to the Cohoctah Township Board, Deerfield Township officials said they were willing to pay half of a $150,000 overlay project on Argentine Road between Allen and Faussett roads.

In a memo, Craine said suggested either having Cohoctah paying half of its project costs, or to decline participating in the Deerfield project. The Cohoctah project agreement was tabled to the board's next regular meeting on July 9.

“We have a split detour,” said Mike Goryl LCRC Traffic Engineer. “This is because there are different trip purposes and we wanted to accommodate them. The contractor will be installing signs for the detour route soon.” A copy of the detour route is available on the LCRC website, www.livingstonroads.org.

 

The LCRC has coordinated this project with local police and fire services to provide alternate routes for emergency services.

The intersection repair work consists of the construction of a modern roundabout intended to ease the frequent traffic back-ups, especially on Winans Lake Road. The roundabout will be a single lane facility, similar to the Kensington and Jacoby intersection located by the General Motors Proving Grounds. The intersection will be re-opened in mid-August. The bridge repair work includes deep concrete deck patching, steel repair and painting, and replacing the bridge railing. This will preserve the existing bridge and extend its service life. The bridge will be re-opened by mid-September.

The construction cost of these projects is being largely funded by the Federal Highway Administration and the Michigan Department of Transportation. The contract cost is approximately $962,000. These funds are being made available only for these projects. The funding for the two projects is derived from money set aside for congestion mitigation and for local bridge rehabilitation respectively.

The prime contractor is C & G Myers of Milford. The sub-contractor for the bridge work is the Slagter Construction of Wayland, Michigan.

Michigan Department of Transportation officials confirmed Friday afternoon that M-36 will only be closed for two weeks as part of a project at Pettys Road. Originally, the highway was going to be closed for up to 49 days, which could have caused some business closures along the busy east-west corridor.

The project will start after the July 4 holiday weekend — rather than in June. Once the two-week closure is complete, one lane of M-36 traffic will be open in each direction. Traffic will be maintained on Pettys Road at all times.

The project is expected to last through late August.

While a two-week closure will still be troublesome, it is still a relief, particularly for those rely on seasonal summer business, said Derryl Hill, owner of Carpet Depot and head of Stakeholders in Dire Straits, a group of more than 30 M-36 businesses concerned about the highway shutdown.

Hill said the longer closure would have caused about four M-36 businesses to close. "When you go from a 49-day closure to a 14-day closure, that's pretty damn good. We can still have our holiday sales and whatever, so that's a good thing also," he said. "This is a good victory."

The project delay is also a victory of sorts for the Hamburg Family Fun Fest, which takes place just south of M-36 from June 17-21.

Hill said it took a while to get MDOT's attention, but the stakeholders' group apparently did. The project contractor will be fined $10,000 each day beyond the 14-day time frame. Chances are good the closure will be even shorter, said Mark Geib, manager of MDOT's Brighton Transportation Service Center.

Friday's news came after an MDOT meeting with New Haven-based contractor Pamar Enterprises. Both sides have been working for weeks to reconfigure the project. Geib said the threat of a daily, $10,000 fine didn't faze the contractor, which "didn't even flinch," he said. The contractor is also expected to work extended hours to ensure the project is completed in a timely fashion, Geib added.

He said talks with the stakeholders' group were easily the most hotly debated within the Brighton MDOT office for this construction season. "We got caught a little flat-footed, but thank goodness they're there," Geib said.

Hamburg Township Supervisor Pat Hohl, who regularly communicated with MDOT during the past several months, said the final plan best serves both businesses and the community. "We'll get the upgrades to (M-)36 and get the infrastructure we need, and limit that to 10 to 15 days. It's a win-win," Hohl said.

The construction project will add a right-turn lane and center-turn lane to M-36, along with intersection improvements. A portion of M-36 just west of the intersection will also be rebuilt. Geib said the work will hold up for at least 10-15 years, and will entail installing a synthetic material under the roadway to replace poor soil. The original plan called for excavating the roadway, removing peat and replacing it with a sandy material, Geib explained. He said the original plan is optimal, but that the end result will be largely the same. "The final configuration of the road will be exactly what it will be set out to be. It's going to be a very solid fix," Geib said.

The stretch between the interchange to just east of Hughes Road is a bumpy ride, but an approximately $1.6 million overhaul this summer — fueled by the federal stimulus program — will create a smoother road, county road officials said.

It's one of the Livingston County Road Commission's largest projects this year, and is expected to begin in late summer or early fall, said Road Commission Managing Director Mike Craine.

That stretch of Grand River Avenue is heavily used by buses from both the Howell and Brighton school districts and gets used by about 20,000 vehicles per day. "It's definitely a major connecting route for local businesses. It's an important street, and it's also one that has a lot of traffic," Craine said. Craine said the effort will likely lay the groundwork for the complete reconstruction of the aging roadway between Howell and Brighton.

Delays are anticipated in the work zone during the roughly seven-week project, as well as with the county's four other planned projects. The Grand River Avenue work will consist of milling existing asphalt and paving the entire width of the road, and some drainage work.

• Hamburg projects:

Hamburg Township is slated to receive the county's next roundabout and see a major upgrade to the Hamburg Road bridge this year. The single-lane roundabout will be built at the intersection of Winans Lake and Hamburg roads, adjacent to Van Antwerp Drive.

The project will kick off in June, and be much easier to navigate than the busy roundabouts next to the Green Oak Village Place mall in Green Oak Township, Craine said. Local residents have already expressed uneasiness about the roundabout, a nonstop traffic measure proven to reduce accidents but create some initial confusion. Hamburg Township Supervisor Pat Hohl said he's confident the roundabout will ease traffic congestion in the township. "I presume that with a little experience, the single roundabout will hopefully prove to be effective in efficiently moving traffic out to U.S. 23," Hohl said. Craine said the roundabout and bridge projects shouldn't complicate traffic surrounding the state's M-36 work.

The rehabilitation of the nearby 140-foot-long Hamburg Road bridge will kick off simultaneously. The project will replace the bridge deck and update the rails. Hohl said the bridge project will greatly improve traffic safety. During the 1960s, a portion of a school bus fell through the bridge.

• The state Department of Transportation will begin work at M-36 and Pettys Road and M-36 and Merrill Road around the same time as both county projects.

• Old U.S. 23:

The county's resurfacing project on Old U.S. 23 between Faussett and Center roads in Tyrone Township will mostly be funded by about $660,000 in stimulus dollars and other federal aid. The project will resurface both sides of the stretch of roadway, and is expected to get under way in late summer or early fall.

The stretch is considered an "emergency route" when highways are closed due to accidents or hazardous weather conditions, Craine said. The work is the next phase of an effort to improve the road across the county. The stimulus program allowed the project to be moved up at least one year, Craine said.

"All it takes is kind of a rumpling of sheet metal on the freeway, and all of a sudden, all of that traffic is on Old U.S. 23," he said.

This project is expected to run through November.

• Clyde Road:

Oceola Township is funding the paving of Clyde Road between Latson and Mack roads, part of an effort of better "plugging" the northern part of the county into U.S. 23, Craine said. The township is expected to pave Clyde Road between Mack and Argentine roads in a subsequent construction season. This year's project is expected to run through October.

Good maintenance is crucial to the life and quality of a gravel road. Usage changes its original shape: the crown is flattened, chuck holes develop, and surface materials are blown, plowed or washed away. Winter snow removal can cause some of the gravel to be scraped to edge of the road. In the spring the LCRC pulls that gravel back onto the roadway, mixes it with existing gravel and lays it back out.

The surface conditions are a very important factor in determining when to grade a gravel road. If it is too dry the gravel will not compact and chuck holes will quickly redevelop. Surfaces worked when they are too wet may not be stable. A damp surface is best.

The LCRC takes great pride and attention to the unpaved roads in Livingston County and when conditions are at their best puts every effort into scraping, reshaping and adding gravel to the many unpaved roads in our county.

All businesses will be open during construction. Once the project is awarded by MDOT, the City will become the local agency that manages the project. More information available on the City of Howell's Construction Updates and Street Program pages or by contacting their offices at 517-546-3861.

Sibley Street Reconstruction flyer