After four months of construction, Sashabaw Road north of Clarkston Road is open.
Work continues, though.
‘The project is not completely done. We have the first of two layers of asphalt down and we will put the second layer down ‘under traffic,? said Craig Bryson, public information officer for Road Commissin for Oakland County. ‘The road will be open, but parts of lanes will be closed briefly during the work.?
The project added left and right turn lanes in all directions at the intersection, new traffic signal, and a smaller hill on Sashabaw north of the intersection, to improve sight distance.
According to traffic studies, 27,600 vehicles travel through the intersection everyday. The number of them crashing into each other helped greenlight the project.
‘The crash history was significant enough to get a federal safety grant to pay for part of the project. Thesegrants are intended for projects where a relatively small improvement should be able to have a significant improvement on safety,? he said.
‘Here, by adding turn lanes, turn signals and the hill cut to improve sight distance, we should be able to significantly reduce intersection collisions.”
Commercial development at the intersection also helped justify widening the intersection, he said.
The federal safety grant covers $320,000 of the estimated $2.6 million cost. Developers have put in approximately $700,000, and the county will pay the remaining $1.58 million.
‘It’s been a long time coming, an inconvenience for the residents and I’m very pleased it’s being reopened,? said Dave Wagner, Independence Township supervisor. ‘It will really increase the safety factor on that road, which was the intent.?
Wally San, manager of Bonitos Pizza on Sashabaw, said he felt an effect.
‘But not just us, everyone along this strip,? he said.
‘This project has affected us a little bit,? said Hassan Hans, manager of 7-11. ‘Once it’s done, it will be good for everybody.?
Dr. Erik Fotheringham of Active Health Chiropractic Clinic said he definitely lost some business due to the construction.
‘When it started in April and the road signs went up, business dropped 40 percent,? he said. ‘In July, it picked back up to normal again, but since they started doing work on I-75 it’s dropped down another 25 percent due to patients canceling appointments because they can’t get to us.?
Steve Ronk, Independence Township fire chief, said Fire Station number 2 on the northwest corner of the intersection was impacted.
‘The day they closed it, we had to have alternate routing to get to the north end of that district, but I can’t say we’ve had any major loss due to that construction. Definitely delayed response times, but it is what it is,” he said. ‘When you tear up a major roadway like that, you have detours and ways around it. We went around to Pine Knob road and it gets us up there. It’s just not as fast as Sashabaw was.?
Ronk said they are looking forward to the road opening so they can get their ‘house in order.”
‘We’ve been waiting to redo our parking lot, front yard and landscape and everything else, waiting for them to finish,? he said. ‘It will definitely help the intersection with the left hand lanes and the improved flow through that intersection. That intersection has always been scary, but we’re looking forward to the improvements and getting that open again.?