The Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) Board today approved spending $6.2 million on six road projects that will result in 20 miles of new pavement.
The projects include five simple resurfacing projects in Rose, Springfield and Holly townships and the major resurfacing of South Boulevard between Crooks and Adams roads in Rochester Hills and Troy.
“We are pleased to be able to take a bight out of the rough roads in Oakland County with these projects,” stated RCOC Chairman Eric Wilson. “We are committed to putting every available dollar into improving our road surfaces, and this is an example of that commitment in action.”
The simple resurfacing projects are:
- Davisburg Road, Milford Road to Andersonville Road in Rose and Springfield townships
- East Holly Road, Rood Road to I-75 in Holly and Springfield townships
- Fenton Road, western Rose Twp. border to Milford Road in Rose Twp.
- Grange Hall Road, western Holly Twp. border to Fish Lake Road in Holly Twp.
- Milford Road, southern Rose Twp. border to northern Rose Twp. border in Rose Twp.
The five projects together are estimated to cost approximately $3.9 million. Of that amount, $2.2 million will be paid for with federal funds, and the remainder will be paid for by RCOC. In all, the projects represent 19 miles of new road surface.
The resurfacing projects will start after July 4 and will be completed by the end of August. The roads will remain open to traffic throughout the work, though they will be reduced to one lane at times, with traffic directed by flaggers.
Wilson noted that the federal dollars used to pay for these five projects are funds that were “purchased” from rural road commissions in northern Michigan. “State law allows road agencies to purchase federal road funding from other road agencies in the state,” he explained. “Some rural road commissions prefer not to use federal road funds because of the amount of red tape involved. Because we use federal funds on a regular basis, our staff is well versed in navigating the federal maze.”
Wilson added that RCOC purchased the federal funds at the rate of 75 cents per dollar of federal funding. “This allows RCOC to leverage our funding and provides the rural road agencies with non-federal funding that carries far less red tape,” he noted.
Additionally, the RCOC Board approved the South Boulevard project which includes removing the existing pavement and resurfacing with asphalt as well as replacing a culvert under the road, installation of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant pedestrian crosswalks and pedestrian crosswalk signals.
The project cost is $2.3 million. It is funded by Troy, Rochester Hills, Oakland County general government (through the Tri-Party Program) and RCOC.
During construction, there will be a short-term closure of South Blvd. just west of Coolidge Road for the Borden Drain culvert placement. Once the culvert replacement is complete, the westbound lanes of South Blvd. from Adams to Coolidge Road will be closed for reconstruction; eastbound South Blvd. will remain open to traffic.
The detour for the full and westbound traffic closures is South Blvd. to Squirrel Road to Square Lake Road to Crooks Road, back to South Blvd. and vice versa. Dates for the closures will be announced.
The South Blvd. work is expected to begin in June and conclude mid-September. For more information on the South Blvd project, visit: http://www.rcocweb.org/442/South-Boulevard.
