ALPENA – The Alpena Municipal Council voted Monday to approve awarding a contract to MacArthur Construction of Hillman for much-anticipated Taylor Street infrastructure upgrades.

City Engineer Steve Shultz recommended the contract be awarded following the bid opening on May 19.

The project involves a full reconstruction of water and sewer lines, along with complete roadway rebuilding on Taylor Street from Long Lake Avenue to Spratt Street.

Although bids were solicited from 14 firms and made available on the city’s website, only one responsive bid was received.

“Adequate funding was budgeted in both the current and next fiscal years in the Water and Sewer Funds for this project,” Shultz noted in the memorandum. He described the work as routine but long overdue.

“It’s a pretty standard sewer and water project, similar to Second Avenue and Fair Street,” Shultz said. “It’s just another project that’s been needed for quite some time and we are finally able to line up the dollars and the timing.”

Construction is scheduled to begin no earlier than June 11, with completion targeted by August 28. The timing is intentional to minimize disruption near a local school.

“We are doing this in the summer because of the fact it’s right next to a school and we don’t want to be a disruption,” Shultz explained. “So we are going to try to get that all completed, or at least the portion of road near the school, before the start of the next school year.”

This project continues Alpena’s ongoing commitment to modernizing its aging infrastructure. In recent years, the city has completed several similar upgrades, often working with the same contractor, MacArthur Construction.

In 2024, the firm handled the Fair Avenue reconstruction between Washington Avenue and 9th Avenue, which included comprehensive water, sewer, and street improvements at a total cost of approximately $1.19 million.

North 2nd Avenue also saw major reconstruction, featuring updated streetscaping, new water and sewer lines, curbs, gutters, and sidewalks. Additional enhancements have included the Water Street Commons, which opened in 2025, improvements at Bay View Park, and various state-supported road projects along corridors such as M-32.