The Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) has kicked off its $79 million road construction season, which will bring a wide range of road improvements to many parts of Oakland County.
This year’s list of road improvements includes many major resurfacing projects including major resurfacings, construction of six new roundabouts, paving a gravel road, three bridge replacements, five culvert replacements and numerous simple resurfacing projects. Examples include:
- Reconstruct Orchard Lake Road between 13 Mile and 14 Mile roads in Farmington Hills, including the construction of a roundabout
- Resurface Pontiac Trail from Green Lake Road to Haggerty Road in West Bloomfield Township
- Construct two roundabouts on Elizabeth Lake Road in White Lake Township
- Pave Currie Road between 8 Mile and 9 Mile roads (currently gravel), including the construction of roundabouts at both ends
- Replace the Hatchery Road bridge over the Clinton River in Waterford Twp.
This year’s program also includes five projects that will add high-friction surface treatment to road to improve safety by reducing the likelihood of run-off-the-road crashes.
“In a continuation of the efforts of the last five years, this year’s program includes a lot of work that will significantly improve road safety and condition 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 five 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.
