May 2024 City Street Update
(See below for prior updates and project overviews)
As of writing, water main work in Winchester Village is substantially complete. Thank you for your patience! The contractor is installing curbs, sidewalks, and drives throughout the project area. During this phase, keep a lookout for door hangers that indicate project schedules and parking expectations for your specific area! Once this phase is complete, a base layer of asphalt is going to be laid down. Restoration and forestry will follow, with the top coat of asphalt coming last. The project is expected to be done ahead of schedule, with substantial completion expected prior to school resuming.
Winchester Woods work is also proceeding ahead of schedule. Residents can expect paving to commence the week of May 20, possibly sooner. Note that Young Drive is to be paved later in the summer. This delay is to accommodate additional engineering that may result in drainage improvements for this segment. With that said, this project was planned and funded as a street surface project only. Only drives that required a grade change that was related to the street grade change were included in the original project specifications for improvement. With prices coming in at the near the engineer's estimate, the city has been able to address SOME additional outstanding drainage issues in this area. Not all ditches, drives, or areas will be improved at this time. We understand that this is frustrating, but we are attempting to correct known downstream capacity and grade issues as they can be included in the budget. Once complete, additional ditching and drainage work can be planned for the future.
Maple, the remainder of School, a segment of Raubinger, and a segment of Elms (by the Creek) are approved for surface rehabilitation this summer. These projects such require only one or two weeks time and should remain open to traffic at nearly all times.
March 2024 City Street Update
In addtion to the udpates below, Winchester Woods is scheduled to commence this year. Note that this project and the prime contractor are not affiliated with the Winchester Village construction that is ongoing. The general contractor for this section is T.G. Priehs, of Imlay City.
The project scope for Winchester Woods impacts IMPROVED STREETS ONLY (Chesterfield, Birchcrest, Oakview, Valleyview, Young, & Eton Ct). The unimproved sections of the subdivision are not included for paving or ditching. The work includes road rehabilitation in the form of milling and resurfacing or road base pulverization with an asphalt cap. Limited full depth reconstruction will occur. The project also includes limited drainage work that includes public culverts and ditches. In order to meet proposed ditch and road grades, many driveways are scheduled to be removed and replaced with like kind materials. Note that existing headwalls that were privately installed on some driveways are NOT intended to be replaced. If this is an area of concern, please contact the city.
Driveways will remain accessible in most cases with limited exceptions during active demolition and excavation. Homeowners should expect personal contact and instructions prior to such a disturbance. Concrete curing, will result in an inability to access your driveway for up to 6-10 days (most drives can be done ½ at a time and cure within three days, allowing access).
The project is planned to commence in mid-April and be completed in early August. As always, weather, emergencies, and underground conditions can alter the proposed timeline.
Note that weekly curbside waste collection is expected throughout the project, with any special needs to be addressed by the contractor. On street parking will be accommodated as well, as directed by the contractor and city staff.
January 2024 City Street Update
Winchester Village street and water main work has been approved. Construction is to start at the end of January. The general timeline is as follows:
Forestry and sidewalk demolition
Water main installation and service line attachment
Street demolition and new storm sewer installation
Curbs, sidewalk, and apron installation
Road paving
Note that there will be 2-3 crews onsite for the duration of the project, with different geographies in the project area subject to different work items at various times. In addition, the contractor will be completing some areas much sooner than others. For example, some areas may experience final road surfacing as early as July, while others may not have their road surface completed until October, when the project is expected to be substantially complete.
Residents can expect to receive door hangers indicating water service interruptions, driveway access issues, and related updates. The standard construction letter that includes general project information and contacts can be viewed here.
In addition, the city is expected to award bids for the Winchester Woods street rehabilitation in February, with this project also expected to conclude in the fall of 2024. For details on these projects, see the prior updates below.
December 2023 City Street Update
Bids have been approved for the next installment of street and water main work in the city. The contractor indicates a desire to commence in mid-winter and conclude all work in 2024. The scope of work includes:
Norbury (Road reconstruction and water main replacement)
Durwood (Road reconstruction and water main replacement)
Greenleaf (Road reconstruction and water main replacement)
Whitney (Road reconstruction and water main replacement)
Winshall (Road reconstruction and water main replacement)
Seymour (limited water main replacement)
Reconstruction includes new storm systems, road base, asphalt, curb, sidewalks, drive approaches, and forestry.
Note that Don Shenk is not included in this phase because the water main for this street is relatively new. Street reconstruction will follow this phase, which is largely related to required water main replacement.
The city also acquired a $250,000 MDOT Category B grant, enabling rehabiltiatoin of streets in Winchester Woods. This project is expected to be bid in early 2024 and commence in 2024. All improved streets in Winchester Woods are included.
September 2023 Street Update
Miller Road rehabilitation continues. The project includes repair of select drainage structures, joint repair, and a significant amount of curb replacement. Resurfacing will occur at the end of the project. There will be limited sidewalk replacement and driveway approach replacement. This work is limited to areas that must meet ADA needs. There will not be any changes to the lane configuration or any addition of onstreet parking. Temporay lane changes will continue so that the contractor can work on two lanes at a time, while leaving two lanes open to traffic for most repairs. For those that inquired about timing, the city did pursue completion prior to school commencing. With construction season spanning April to November, communities must pay a hefty and literal financial premium to schedule their project between mid-June and mid-August. This is the equivilient to spring break airfare and would consume resources slated for other road projects. We appreciate your patience with the added inconvienence.
Prevenetative maintenance crack fill application is complete. City-wide pavement markings/striping will follow.
The city still awaits final approval of water main designs for the Phase II of the USDA water main replacment project. This has been under USDA ane EGLE review for many months. The water main engineering approval is directly tied to the reconstruction of Durwood, Norbury, Greenleaf, Whitney, and Winshall. Once this approval is granted by EGLE, we expect to bid. Due to the experienced delay, it is not likely that any significant reconstruction will commence in 2023. Winchester Woods resurfacing will also be bid at this time.
See previous reports for project details and past progress.