Scio Township, Mich. - The Washtenaw County Road Commission announced today that it is continuing progress on the final bridge design to replace the Main Street Bridge over Mill Creek in Scio Township adn the Village of Dexter. Steve Puuri, Road Commission Managing Director, recently sent a communication to the Village of Dexter to advise officials that the Road Commission would be completing the design for a three-lane bridge, and upon final plan approval of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), moving forward to construct the new bridge in 2008.
“A feasibility study conducted for the Road Commission in 2005 by JJR of Ann Arbor determined that this bridge replacement alone will not accommodate the current or 20-year forecasted traffic volumes. We had considered constructing a five-lane bridge, but since the Village of Dexter strongly prefers a three-lane bridge, that’s what is being designed,” explained Roy Townsend, Director of Engineering/County Highway Engineer.
In 2005, the Road Commission was awarded a $5.5 million grant for this project from MDOT. An anticipated $2.5 million is needed for the bridge replacement, dam removal, design, inspection, construction match, and sediment remediation. The grant will cover approximately $1.5 million of the Phase 1 costs; the remaining will be contributed by the Road Commission (approximately $560,000), and Dexter Village (approximately $450,000). Upon approval of MDOT, the balance of the grant could possibly be used to fund a portion of a proposed Phase 2 of this project, which could include improvements to the Dexter-Chelsea Road intersection, the construction of a new viaduct under the Norfolk Southern Railroad, and realigning Dexter-Pinckney Road.
“A new railroad viaduct should be wider and realigned to help mitigate the current traffic congestion. However, the Road Commission is unable to commit additional funds for a proposed Phase 2 of this bridge replacement project,” explained Townsend.
“We have identified the anticipated costs associated with the design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction of a proposed Phase 2, and estimate that an additional $1.6 million in local funds would be required from the Road Commission beyond the anticipated grand funds remaining from Phase 1,” clarified Steve Puuri.
“As it now stands, in order to fund the proposed Phase 2, the Road Commission would have to eliminate seven needed projects in other areas of the county; and in doing so, we would forfeit approximately $4 million in Federal Aid and $1.4 million in state and other funding that has already been secured for those projects. Because we strive to be good stewards of the entire county road system, we intend to honor our previous commitments to other communities for road improvements, as defined in our Capital Improvement Plan. Therefore, we cannot justify withdrawing our commitments to these and other communities, and the Washtenaw County road system as a whole, in order to subsidize one project, as worthy as it may seem to the Village of Dexter,” Puuri explained.
“We have advised Village officials that the Road Commission is willing to administer the proposed Phase 2 of this project, if the Village can commit to funding all local costs associated with the second phase,” said Puuri.
“In addition, the Road Commission would be willing to support a transfer of the remaining balance of the grant to the Village of Dexter, in the event the Village wants to assume jurisdiction of Dexter-Pinckney Road between the Main Street Bridge and Island Lake Road. The transfer of these funds would ultimately be the decision of MDOT, but the Road Commission would do whatever we can to facilitate a reallocation of the remaining grant monies, under the described circumstances,” concluded Puuri.
The Road Commission has long recognized and been a proponent of mitigating the regional traffic problems in this western area of the county, and has continually sought regional solutions, such as the proposed Parker Road extension. According to the feasibility study, this traffic mitigation option, which was first proposed to the Village and surrounding townships in 1996, would address both the short- and long-term congestion problems, but the extension was opposed by some Village officials who indicated they were concerned about the preservation of the Gordon Hall property.
“It appears, with the latest plan for the United Methodist Retirement Community development, that the Parker Road extension project is not a traffic mitigation alternative we can consider, although it would significantly address the traffic capacity problems the townships and Village are currently experiencing and will continue to experience, even if improvements were made to the railroad viaduct,” concluded Puuri.
The Road Commission estimates it will take approximately nine months to complete the design phase and to administer the project for construction bids. Construction would begin in early 2008 if everything continues to move forward as planned.