The Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) has kicked off its $75.6 million road construction season, which will bring a wide range of road improvements to many parts of Oakland County.
This year’s list of planned road improvements includes many major resurfacings, construction of three new roundabouts, paving a gravel road, three bridge preventative maintenance projects, five culvert replacements and numerous simple resurfacing projects. Examples include:
- Resurface Orchard Lake Road between Commerce and Middlebelt roads in Orchard Lake Village, Keego Harbor, Sylvan Lake and West Bloomfield Twp.
- Resurface John R Road, Fourteen Mile Road to Maple Road in Troy
- Construct two roundabouts on Elizabeth Lake Road in White Lake Township
- Pave Waldon Road between Clintonville and Baldwin roads (currently gravel) in Independence and Orion townships
- Perform preventative maintenance on the Grand River Ave. bridge over the CSX railroad tracks in Novi
“In a continuation of the efforts of the last six years, this year’s program includes a lot of work that will significantly improve road safety and conditions across the county,” RCOC Managing Director Dennis Kolar said. He added that the increased number of road improvement projects in Oakland County and across the state in recent years is directly tied to the increase in state road funding approved by the state Legislature and signed into law by the governor in 2015. The funding began to flow in 2017 and was phased in over six years, with the full amount of new funding arriving in 2022.
“While we still have a lot of work to do on our roads, construction programs like this one, and the improvements we have made over the last six years, mean the roads are in far better condition than they otherwise would have been,” Kolar explained.
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Editor’s Note: A list of all the RCOC projects expected to be completed this year is attached.
