Ortonville- The village council is taking steps toward the improvement of two roads.
At their Oct. 27 meeting, the council unanimously approved contracting their engineering firm, Rowe Professional Services, at a cost not to exceed $2,300 to design a plan for extending the shoulder of Oakwood Road. The plan will cover extension of the shoulder from the Bueche’s Food World drive, just south of M-15 on Oakwood, to just east of Cedar Street. The plan will extend the shoulder by 6-feet in width for about a quarter of a mile.
‘We have multiple walkers, runners, bike riders and there is a lot of traffic to Bueche’s? it’s a safety issue,? said Village Manager John Lyons. ‘It’s very dangerous.?
Lyons estimates the total cost of the project including engineering and construction will be between $80,000 to $90,000. The design will be submitted to Oakland County, who, along with the Road Commission, would help with the cost of the project through Tri-Party Funds. The village will be responsible for a third of the total cost. Lyons hopes the project can be completed next year.
Also at the Oct. 27 meeting, the council unanimously approved Wilson Road Group of Lapeer to do a soil investigation this month along Mill Street with cost not to exceed $4,000. The study, which will involve boring 35 feet down, is necessary to find the source and possible remedy of excess groundwater that has caused continual problems with flooding of Mill east of Church Street to Crescent Hill Drive. The surface water is costing the village in replacement of asphalt and keeping it salted in winter.
The cost of salt, Lyons noted at the meeting, has also doubled this winter? from $35 per ton to over $70. The village uses roughly 500 tons of salt in an average season, purchased from the state of Michigan, which told the village the cost increase is a result of a short supply after the last harsh winter.