The
Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) plans to close Napier Road between 9
Mile and 10 Mile roads on the Lyon Township/Novi border for excavation and
drainage work beginning Nov. 10.
The Napier/10 Mile Road roundabout
will remain open to traffic during the Napier closure; however, the approaches
on the south side of roundabout will be closed to through traffic (the north,
east and west approaches and the full roundabout will remain open).
The detour for Napier Road through
traffic will be 8 Mile Rd to Beck Road to 10 Mile Road and vice versa.
Residential access along Napier Road will be maintained.
During the closure, the contractor
will be excavating an area of poor soil on Napier Road just north of 9 Mile
Road. The excavation work was scheduled after the roundabout opened so
residents along Napier would not be confined by road closures at both ends of
this section of Napier.
The roundabout construction started
later than anticipated due to delays related to the sensitive nature of the
wetlands in the area and the related permit needed from the Michigan Department
of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). RCOC staff applied for the MDEQ permit in
November 2016, and it was received on March 3, 2017.
The permit was necessary due to wetlands located just
north of 10 Mile Road at Napier. Eighty percent of the project funding is
federal dollars, and, in accordance with federal rules, the MDEQ permit had to
be secured before the project could be placed on the state’s bid schedule.
Once
the permit was secured, the state scheduled the bid letting for June. Federally
funded road projects, including county roads, are bid by the state per federal
requirements.
The
road closures for the roundabout construction began on July 17, and RCOC
required that the contractor focus its resources on this portion of the
project. Prior to construction of the roundabout, residents had voiced strong
concerns over the safety of the intersection.
RCOC
made the roundabout construction the priority, and 13 weeks later, it opened to
traffic. The Road Commission included an early completion incentive for the
contractor to speed the construction process. The incentive was met.
The excavation and drainage work on
Napier between 9 Mile and 10 Mile roads is expected to conclude on approximately
Jan. 5, and is being done in anticipation of the upcoming paving of this
section of Napier Road. The road could open sooner depending on Mother Nature.
The
road will close again in the spring when the paving work begins. That closure
is expected to last approximately three months, though that change depending in
a variety of factors, including the weather.
This section of Napier Road carries
approximately 2,350 vehicles daily.
