The Leelanau County Road Commission had no old/new business items on its Tuesday meeting agenda, but road commission staff updated commissioners and the public on road work as part of their regular staff reports.
Crews began replacing “the tube” on County Road 675, also known as South Dunns Road, Tuesday. According to an August press release, the road will be closed to thru traffic until Dec. 1. Until then, road commission Manager Brendan Mullane said that drivers will need to detour to and from M-22 via South Westman Road to avoid the construction.
Road Commission Engineer Craig Brown reported that County Road 626 will be closed to thru traffic starting next week, as crews need to replace culverts between Lake Leelanau to Omena. According to Brown’s report, two out of eight culverts have already been replaced.
Brown also said that work on the second portion of “Little” Traverse Lake Road in Cleveland Township is mostly complete. This portion includes the bend around the northeast corner of Little Traverse Lake and leading to the M-22 intersection.
Road commission staff expect to work on a third and final segment of the road in 2025 under a cost-share agreement with Cleveland Township, with the township paying for 60% of the project and the road commission shouldering the remaining 40% of the costs.
Work on the second segment so far has included ditching, geogrid and aggregate base, and culvert replacement. Mullane said that the road commission doesn’t plan on replacing the culvert on the west end of the lake yet.
The road commission manager added Tuesday that the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy seems to be pushing for an in-kind replacement of this tunnel, which has been “a very contentious culvert for years,” but hasn’t applied for anything yet.
Mullane met with Suttons Bay Township officials last week to discuss other possible costshare agreements, which could fund road work on Lovers Lane and Cherry Blossom Drive if approved. The road commission discussed a “more defined” version of their cost-sharing policy in a strategic planning session after their Tuesday morning meeting.
Road commission staff also:
• Met with Kasson Township officials in August to go over their asset management report, help lay out a plan for future projects, and discuss safety concerns at the corner of Newman and Kasson Center roads.
• Met with Drain Commissioner Steve Christiansen to inspect concerns about drainage upstream of the road commission culvert at South Richter Road and Center Highway. The culvert and ditches appear to be operating as intended, according to staff reports.
• Reported that the replacement of the culvert on Pettengill Road in Empire is complete.
• Began winterizing summer equipment and more cold weather preparation to their vehicle fleet and facilities since their previous meeting Aug. 20.
