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Oakland County Announces 18 Summer Road Projects

BEVERLY HILLS (WWJ) - Prepare your patience, people, because the Road Commission for Oakland County will be working on 18 projects starting this summer.

Commission spokesman Craig Bryson said the projects include road widenings, reconstructions, resurfacings and bridge replacements. Some of them would require lane or road closures.

Bryson said he knows road work can be a pain, but drivers need to realize it's worth it.

"It's really an investment in the community that's going to improve our community when we're done here," he told WWJ Newsradio 950's Zahra Huber. "It'll be $30 million worth of road improvement, that'll make it easier to get around. It'll be smoother roads, and in some cases less congestion and better for residents, businesses, schools -- you name it."

Bryson said some of the projects could take up to six months to complete.

"The reality is you can't repair, replace a road without inconveniencing traffic and residents and businesses -- and we try to be as accommodating as possible and try to be disruptive as little as possible," he said. "But these are major projects that require the closure of lanes and in some cases of entire roads.

Most of the 2013 road improvements are being paid for through multiple funding sources. Eighty percent of the cost of most of the major road construction projects will be paid for with federal road dollars (generated by the federal gas tax), with the remaining 20 percent typically split between RCOC and the local community in which the projects take place.

A number of projects will also be funded fully or in part through the Tri-Party Program, which is a combination of dollars in equal parts from three sources: Oakland County general government, the Road Commission and individual communities.

Some of the major projects are:

  • The widening of Tienken Road from Rochester Road to Sheldon Road in Rochester Hills, which will be reconstructed as a three-lane road.
  • The reconstruction of County Center Drive East and North Court Tower Boulevard on the Oakland County government campus in Pontiac.
  • The rehabilitation and resurfacing of Coolidge Road from Webster to Woodward in Royal Oak.
  • Replacement of the 13 Mile Road bridge over the Rouge River in Bingham Farms.

Get more information here.

Remember to keep it tuned to WWJ Newsradio 950 for the latest from the roads, every 10 minutes on the 8s, 24-hours-a-day. Check out our traffic page.

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