January 2023 Street Update
The Morrish Road project is fully open to traffic and substantially complete. This project should be behind us very shortly. The city inspected the project with the engineer to see if it is ready to close out. Staff has concerns about some apparent reflective cracking. While cracking over joints is not uncommon for rehabilitation projects, there is a substantial amount that may be cause for concern. This is most notable around Fortino and the storage units on Morrish.
We have an agreement with the MDOT for the Miller Road buyout, which might make funds available for 2023. With that said, we are looking to bid in the late winter and need to finalize preliminary engineering. OHM is working on final engineering, and we hope to bid soon.
The federal award for this project has been increased from $1,054,959 to $1,249,499. At 90%, our share is up to $1,124,549 from $949,463. This money will be much less restricted road money, which should enable us to complete the necessary resurfacing, joint work, curb, and drainage, without needing to focus on other MDOT requirements. Note that cost increases and the continuing need to pay Davis Bacon wages (prevailing wages) may still dig into local reserves.
If bids are low, funds can be spent to expand the project scope as we see fit. There is no shortage of deferred maintenance on other major streets (south Morrish, concrete portions of Miller, and even parts of east Miller and Elms). Another options is some striping or lane change configurations downtown, should the city wish to explore on-street parking on Miller from Morrish to Hayes.
With that said, OHM has modeled an option for this segment with on street parking. Doing so will certainly have the mixed impact of slowing traffic, as well as the obvious increase to parking spaces, an increased buffer for sidewalk uses. The study was in the November 14, 2022 council packet. We will need to decide if we wish to pursue this prior to having the roadwork commence.
The DDA discussed this matter at their meeting on November and December meetings. There was support and opposition, with no recommendation.
All other street work for 2022 is substantially complete. Road paint has been completed on Bristol, Seymour, and Hill. However, there are still some missing stop bars and specialty markings (approved at the September 12 meeting). Note that Seymour now has a double yellow line centered on the street, with edge lines included to provide for shoulders on both sides. The lane width is at 10.5’. This should result in traffic calming and provide a safer space for bikers.OHM is preparing preliminary engineering for the remainder of Winchester Village and Winchester Woods. This is a very large scope of work. As observed with the recent streets in the Village, the water main that is in place is 70-year-old cast iron, with failing joints. As such, it is imperative to replace water main for those streets that have original pipe (note that this excludes Don Shenk, which has ~20 year old water main, with a corresponding top coat of asphalt).
In order to tackle such a large scope of water main, we intend to bond with the USDA for another phase. This means that the water main work must be completed in two construction seasons. The removal of the street and existing main further necessitates that the streets be completed in the same timeline. As such, a street bond is prudent.
We are currently finalizing the USDA borrowing process and should be ready to bid the water main and streets this winter. The USDA and street bond processes will be conducted concurrently, but they are separate and distinct. Note that delivery times for ductile iron are extensive, from 8 to 12 months. This could prevent any meaningful work form occuring in 2023.
Mid-July Street Update
July Street Update
May 2022 Street Update
April 2022 Street Update
2022 is going to be very busy in Swartz Creek. Miller Road water main is finishing up now, but replacement curb work and restoration will continue into late spring. Morrish Road rehabilitation is underway. This is a resurfacing project from Bristol to Miller that was selected for funding by the Genesee County Traffic Improvement Program. Some folks have asked, "why this road." The answer lies in the old adage that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." This street has surface deterioration, but a strong base. As such, the road received federal rehabilitation funds to address the surface prior to major defects. This road project will take about ten weeks, with the south bound lane closed for phase one and the north bound land closed for phase two. This is the best solution available given practical consideration, design requirements, and MDOT traffic control guidance. The project will also include a left turn lane on Paul Fortino, onto Morrish.
To address additional street deterioration, several local street projects will also be completed by this fall. These projects will be surface rehabilitation, but they will provide timely maintenance to protect road bases and improve the surface. The projects should also progress much faster. Areas approved for resurfacing include: Hill Road (Seymour to city limits), Seymour Road (Miller to city limits) and Bristol Road (Elms to city limits, including base repair at Jennie Lane). In addition, we expect to have surface restoration for the Library/Senior Center/Civic area parking lot. Notice will go out to those organizations to avoid service disruptions.
Miller Road, from Morrish to Seymour, has been selected for TIP federal funding. The year of construction has not been determined but is likely to be 2024.
Lastly, even bigger plans are in the works for 2023-2024. A USDA phase II investment will enable water main replacement for those streets in Winchester Village that are still on original cast iron mains. Concurrent with this, we will be reconstructing those streets in the same manner as the recent projects. Engineering is already underway, with bids to be solicited later this year to finish up this work. Doing so will bring us very close to substantial completion of the Winchester Village infrastructure investment. Note that we are already hearing of major delays (months, perhaps a year) on such supplies. We are not expecting delays for a 2023 commencement yet, but such supply issues may become a reality. We expect to be resurfacing much of Winchester Woods at this time as well.