FeedsRepairs to subdivision roads to begin soon
Road improvements in the Lake Crest and Belle Harbor subdivisions will begin soon, according to Bryce Kelley, director of planning and economic development for Van Buren Township.
“This has been long in the making and has prompted a lot of emotion by the residents,” he said.
Township trustees approved the engineering and construction costs for the project last week. The road replacements and related storm water management improvements should be completed by November.
Eight streets in the special assessment district will be reconstructed, along with storm water facilities and other related improvements within the area.
The cost for engineering services will be about $99,635 and construction costs will be $1.5 million for the project. Wayne County agreed to pay 20 percent of the costs, up to a maximum of $320,000, which include the reconstruction, the removal and the replacement of asphalt roadways. The homeowners must pay the balance of the expenses, which would be about $700 each for the next 15 years, according to township officials.
Kelley said homeowners first addressed the project about 20 years ago. In 2003, the project received serious attention when a combination of unseasonably warm temperatures caused a rapid thaw of soil under the roadways. The weight of heavy vehicles also rutted and destroyed the asphalt surface in some areas, making the roadways impassable, he said, ultimately causing the county to close limited areas of the road until repairs were made.
Residents petitioned for the project in June, which lead to the approval because of majority demand: 122 of the 196 property owners.
As designed, there will be little disruption to the front yards and the finished roadways will be 20 inches in width. Those areas where the storm water management system is in need of repair will be reconstructed, too, officials said.
