Some rough stretches of road in Oxford Township will undergo much-needed resurfacing this year once officials decide which ones to fix.
Last week, the township board voted 5-2 to allocate $150,000 to the road fund in order to participate in the Tri-Party Program, a road-funding initiative in which project costs are divided evenly between the county’s general government, the road commission and local communities.
‘That’s the match we had to do in order to access those other funds,? said Treasurer Joe Ferrari. ‘In order to get the Tri-Party (money), you have to put in your third.?
Right now, the township has access to a total of $434,962 in Tri-Party funding between the three entities.
Township officials are working with the road commission to decide which asphalt roads are in the ‘most dire? condition, according to Ferrari.
The road commission provided the township with a list of five roads ? Lakeville, Oakwood, Oxford, Drahner and Seymour Lake ? which it believes are the main priorities. The list included 11.4 miles worth of roads at a total cost of $2.031 million.
‘They would prefer us to do complete stretches of roads,? Ferrari said. ‘For example, they would like to have all of W. Drahner (Road) done (from M-24 to Sanders Road). But there’s portions of that are still in good shape.?
Given there’s only enough Tri-Party funding to resurface about 2.1 miles worth of road, according to Supervisor Bill Dunn, officials are trying to ascertain whether repairs can be done to various sections of different roads and if so, what’s the minimum length required for each stretch.
‘We’re waiting to hear from the road commission in terms of what their increments are,? Ferrari said. ‘The county may say you can only do it in half-mile increments or quarter-mile (increments).?
If he had his druthers, Ferrari said he would like to see sections of W. Drahner, Seymour Lake and Oakwood roads repaired.
‘I know we’ve got a real bad stretch on N. Oxford Road,? he noted.
Township officials are hoping to make a decision on how to spend the Tri-Party money at their May meeting.
‘We’re hoping to get all the data together by then,? Ferrari said.