On November 6, 2007, in conjunction with the approval of their 2008 budget, the Washtenaw County Board of Road Commissioners adopted
the agency’s
2008-20012 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), which is
now available in its entirety for public viewing on the Road
Commission’s website.
As shown in the CIP, the Road Commission will begin 2008 with a record-breaking season of road improvements, having successfully acquired $45 million in outside funding through state and federal grants and local contributions.
The first few years (2008-2009) of the CIP are very aggressive. During this timeframe, the Road Commission will be completing many important and needed road improvements, as well as replacing or rehabilitating a number of bridges and culverts. In addition, this CIP includes a Preventative Maintenance Plan that will help to ensure the long-term stability of the Washtenaw County road network. However, after the 2009 construction season, transportation funding on both the state and federal levels are expected to decrease substantially, thus limiting the number of road improvements in 2010-2012.
“Unfortunately, once our funding dries up, it will force us into having to reduce the level of road services Washtenaw County residents and the traveling public have come to expect,” stated Steve Puuri, Managing Director.
“If our state and federal legislators cannot agree on a means by which to continue to fund our road system, a decline in our services is inevitable, which will dramatically impact our county roads, and ultimately reverse all the efforts we have made over the past five years to proactively address the need to expand the roadways in congested urban areas, as well as adequately maintain our existing transportation network,” Puuri said.
Preconstruction work is already underway on many of the CIP’s 2008 projects. Just a few of the major road improvements planned for this year include the Jackson Road, Phase III boulevard project, between Honey Creek and Dino Drive in Scio Township; the Geddes Road/Superior Road roundabout project and the Geddes Road/LeForge Road intersection project, both in Superior Township; the reconstruction of Holmes Road, between Rue Deauville and Spencer Lane in Ypsilanti Township; the completion of the Carpenter Road project in Pittsfield Township (which began in 2007); and the continuation of the road improvements on Platt/Willis/Bemis roads, which are being completed in association with the new Toyota Technical Center in York Township.
In addition, several bridges and culverts will be replaced this construction season; they include the Main Street Bridge over Mill Creek, between Dexter-Chelsea Road and Alpine Street in Scio Township and the Village of Dexter; the Harris Road Bridge over Fowler Creek, between Vreeland Road and Cherry Hill Road in Ypsilanti Township; the Liberty Road Bridge over the Haas Drain, between Dancer Road and Steinbach Road in in Lima Township; and the Schleweis Road Culvert over Iron Creek, between Bowens Road and Lemm Road in Manchester Township. Also, later this year, we will rehabilitate the East Delhi Road Bridge over the Huron River in Scio Township.
Throughout this year, projects can be viewed on the Road Commission’s website under Roadwork. This section of the website provides the most up-to-date information on projects, construction schedules, detour routes and other road improvement activities. Public information meetings that pertain to projects will also be posted on the website, as they are scheduled throughout the coming months.
Contact:
For questions or further information on this press release, please contact Val Cooper, Public Information Officer, Washtenaw County Road Commission, at (734) 327-6675, or via email at cooperv@wcroads.org.