A road in Genoa Township will see some needed improvements.

The Genoa Township Board met Monday night and approved an agreement with the Livingston County Road Commission for the installation of crushed limestone on Herbst Road at a cost not to exceed $150,000. $17,000 of that cost will be invoiced for the current budget cycle, and the rest in the upcoming fiscal year. The agreement calls for installing approximately 8,655 feet of crushed limestone on Herbst Road, from the end of the pavement to Grand River. The east and west portions of Herbst Road originally received crushed limestone in 1999 and 2000, while another area received it in 2008. Without new material, the road surface is said to turn into a kind of oatmeal slurry when wet. The road is also said to be very flat, which causes water to sit on the road.

Supervisor Bill Rogers commented that many people don’t realize townships have no requirement to be in the road business period- just MDOT and road commissions. Unfortunately, he says municipalities have had to contribute a lot more toward roads over the years than ever anticipated. He tells WHMI the township has to put money away for various projects because it’s not cheap and they can’t just turn over the over the entire budget to a particular project in any given year. Rogers says Herbst Road is another project that’s needed to maintain a road and continue positive progress. He further noted a report that showed in 2007 the township had 5% effective roads, but they are now at 50% of what they’ve been trying to accomplish. Rogers says it’s pretty major and the township has been accomplishing a lot considering it doesn’t have a road millage and they have to save to build up a fund and try to get some projects done. He added that the Road Commission has worked very well with the township and in conjunction with the township in identifying work and helping with things such as engineering so it’s been a very positive relationship. Rogers says the goal is to get the Herbst Road project done in the 2020 season. (JM)