It’s time to roll out the orange barrels, as the Road Commission for Oakland County has announced planned road construction for the 2003 season.
One major project is ongoing from last year, and motorists should ‘expect delays.?
Dixie Highway between I-75 and Davisburg Road in Springfield Township is being widened from four lanes to five, and a road commission notice said work is scheduled to resume this month.
During construction, which is expected to be complete by May 30, crews will maintain one open lane in each direction and a center left-turn lane.
Also high on the local list is new pavement on Holcomb between Bridge Lake and Reese roads. The $2.8 million project is expected to begin July 15 and end Nov. 15.
Other area road projects will be ‘preservation overlays,? in which about an inch-and-a-half of new asphalt is placed over the existing pavement. Those locations include:
? Cranberry Lake Road from M-15 to Perry Lake Road in Independence Township.
? Davisburg Road from Dixie Highway to Bridge Lake Road in Springfield Township.
? Ely Road from Tindall to the end of the road in Springfield Township.
? Holcomb from the Clarkston city border to the end of the pavement in Independence Township.
? Mann Road from Clintonville Road east to the end of the pavement in Waterford and Independence Township.
? Washington from Holcomb to the Clarkston village limit in Independence Township.
Brent Bair, RCOC managing director, said the county program is less this year compared with last year, but still aggressive. He warned that future revenues from the state gasoline tax will not be sufficient, however, to handle the projected $1 billion in capacity needs on county roads over the next 10 years.
In a related project, local drivers may see work on local traffic signals thanks to a federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant that requires no local financial match.
Trustees in both Independence and Springfield townships have endorsed a cooperative project of the county road commission and the Michigan Department of Transportation intended to retime signals not connected to the county Fast-Trac system (which has pavement-embedded sensors allowing traffic signals to adapt to actual traffic flow).
The retiming project for non-Fast-Trac signals is intended to improve traffic flow, decrease motorist delays and reduce air pollution, officials said.
Engineers will consult with local officials to determine what signals require special timing sequences or other special circumstances.