The road commission only had one thing on Tuesday morning’s agenda: a motion authorizing staff to submit an agreement to Cleveland Township to split the costs of work on “Little” Traverse Lake Road 60-40, with the township to shoulder the majority of the $314,127 in estimated costs with a $188,476.20 contribution.
As Road Commissioner Manager Brendan Mullane noted, the Traverse Lake Road project has been much discussed, but now that the road commission has formally authorized the project, the Cleveland Township Board will be able to consider approving the proposal at their next monthly meeting on May 14.
If the township board approves the road commission’s proposal next month, the reconstruction project will target a portion of Traverse Lake Road that bends around the northeast corner of Little Traverse Lake and leads to an intersection with M-22. The project would include two culvert replacements, dirt work by the road commission, and pavement by Team Elmers.
Meanwhile, to the southeast in Cedar, Road Commission Engineer Craig Brown reported that crews finished work on the Victoria Creek bridge three days ahead of schedule on April 9. A contractor installed shear pins in the bridge to prevent the slippage between the I-beams and the concrete, which should keep the bridge from bending too much underneath the weight of the traffic.
Now that this bridge on County Road 651 has been strengthened, the road commission hopes to lift load restrictions north of Cedar. Brown said in his report that the relevant paperwork has been submitted to the Michigan Department of Transportation, but they are still waiting for approval from the state as of April 16.
Road Commission Vice Chairman Jim Calhoun also expressed interest in conducting a “road tour” with his fellow board members, reviewing projects that the road commission completed last year and the sites for future work. This suggestion was well-received, but the road commission did not set a date for these visits yet.
