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Nearly $1.4 million in road projects to take place in Alcona County

By JASON OGDEN

News Staff Writer

LINCOLN — Three major roadway projects totaling nearly $1.4 million will be taking place in Alcona County in the coming months, according to Alcona County Road Commission Managing Director Jesse Campbell.

The projects will take place on Cedar Lake Road, Mt. Maria Road and F-41, he said. Although the Cedar Lake and Mt. Maria projects have been delayed until after Labor Day, Campbell said the F-41 project will begin mobilization next week.

“(The contractor) will actually order the signs up and they use a subcontractor to do the signs; they will stage them and do mobilization of all the equipment that is needed, making sure everything is set up,” he said.

The winning bid for that project was Bolens Asphalt and Paving of East Tawas at a cost of $412,133.

Campbell said the scope of work for that project is from Goddard Road to Andrews Road in Mikado Township.

“On this project, the top of the existing surface will be milled off and an overlay of new asphalt added. The project will also include guardrail improvements and new signage,” Campbell said.

Campbell said the reconstruction of Cedar Lake Road originally was supposed to begin at the end of the month but was changed to Sept. 5, as well as Mt. Maria Road, which is also slated to begin Sept. 5.

“We actually pushed the projects to after Labor Day weekend due to any possible discomfort it could cause with the land owners,” he said. “Some of them are seasonal and we didn’t want to hinder any traffic in the area during that time frame.”

The work on the road will be from Thayer Road to Cedar Lake Drive on the west side of Cedar Lake, he said.

Work will include clearing the right of way, replacing culverts, crushing the existing surface, adding gravel, reshaping the road bed, and repaving, along with drainage improvements and road shoulder and ditch restoration.

He said the project will come in at $547,542.

The Mt. Maria Road section that will be worked on is from Hill Street to Hilltop Parkway in Hawes Township. Campbell said there will be culvert replacement and crushing the existing surface, adding gravel, reshaping the road bed, repaving, and new signage. This work will be done by Bolen Asphalt Paving Inc. This project should be wrapped up by mid-October and will have a cost of $179,940.

Campbell said the road commission would like to do longer sections but funding availability has limited that.

The final section of Cedar Lake Road from Cedar Lake Drive to F-30 is on the docket for 2021. On Mt. Maria Road from Hilltop Parkway to Ann Street in 2018 and on F-41 to F-30 in 2018,” he said.

“None of these projects would be possible without contributions from the respective townships that supplement funding using voter-approved road millages,” Campbell said. “We work closely with townships in setting road improvement priorities.”

Campbell said in all the projects there will be flag operations and traffic slow downs as work progresses. He urged drivers to slow down to avoid injury to road workers and themselves and to plan ahead and have extra time to get to locations.

“Speed is the largest factor in most fatalities and injuries in construction projects, so slow down,” he said.

Jason Ogden can be reached via email at jogden@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5693. Follow Jason on Twitter @jo_alpenanews.

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