By Shelby Stewart-Soldan
ssoldan@mihomepaper.com
Ortonville — The Oakwood sidewalk project, originally approved by the Ortonville village council in March of 2023, will no longer take place. The project was to be partially funded with the 2023 Small Urban Grant funds, and would have put a sidewalk from Narrin Park to Cedar Street.
“The Village worked to find a way to make the Oakwood sidewalk project work, over the last several years, and exhausted its willingness to pursue the options that were available,” said Village Manager Ryan Madis. “The Small Urban funding has specific time lines and requirements to complete MDOT processes, and this became more than what was possible with the constraints on the project. Stepping away from this project allows the funds to be kept local, which was preferable to letting the funds revert to the state to reallocate. The Village remains committed to keeping all users safe on its streets, and will continue to work to find a way to fill in the sidewalk network throughout the Village.”
Following the decision to no longer pursue the Oakwood sidewalk project, the Small Urban group decided to use funds from the 2025 fiscal year to rehab Narrin Street.
“The worst, and most used, section of Narrin Street is from M-15 to Mill Street, and it will be the focus of this project,” said Madis. “Other considerations to improve the right of way along Narrin Street are being considered, and a scope and work plan will be presented by the village’s engineer to the village council at an upcoming meeting. We will work to complete as much work as possible based on the funding and Village resources for the project, recognizing the timelines and other factors in the project. Using this funding in 2025 allows time to settle on the scope and plan now, and to complete the work in the 2025 construction season.”