By Jessica Mathews/News@whmi.com


The Grand River repaving project in the City of Howell appears to still be on track to begin in June.

The Howell City Council met virtually Monday night and members received an update on the upcoming work to be done by the Michigan Department of Transportation. City staff reached out to M-DOT about the project and was informed that the project bid was awarded to Cadillac Asphalt and the underground sub-contractor is GLS Construction. Interim City Manager Erv Suida told Council the resurfacing project is still scheduled begin June 15th but there were some initial concerns raised related to the impact on downtown businesses. He said those were centered on what happens if businesses resume to normal June 1st but then Grand River gets shut down on the 15th. Suida said discussion with the parties involved was centered on how to facilitate some sort of coordination and not add any undue burden on businesses that are already hurting and trying to bounce back from being shut down.

Some members questioned the estimated timeline in the Central Business District. Suida said they’re typically not long projects but what makes the downtown portion a bit longer is that it’s five lanes instead of three and there are also some utility structures in the road, which takes a little more time. It was estimated it would probably take 2 to 2 ½ weeks to be in and out of downtown. Suida said there are five zones crews will be working in starting at Highlander Way and then working to the east. He said Grand River downtown will never be totally shut down because crews will run traffic in both ways and implement lane shifts. Suida did note that there will be some parking impacts because whatever side is being worked on, on-street parking will be gone during that time. It was stated that storefronts could still be open and pedestrian traffic on sidewalks would be permitted. The project also involves some improvements to ADA ramps at intersections, the landings and sidewalks in-between. Whether ADA ramps will have to be replaced will depend on survey work. The City also plans to approach MDOT about possibly incorporating some pedestrian crossing points along the route.

While not optimal circumstances, council seemed to agree there weren’t really any other alternatives and it would just be best to just have the project proceed. Suida said there was talk about delaying the project for a year but that would create other issues because the City has scheduled work on Clinton and National Streets, which is a main detour route. It was also noted that MDOT wants to get the work done in between school schedules, which is why they initially waited until June 15th. Members appeared to agree there really aren’t any other good alternatives and the work needs to be done, with Councilwoman Jan Lobur pointing out there also aren’t any festivals taking place as both Balloonfest and the Food Truck Rally have been canceled.

Suida said they have good relationship with all of the parties involved so they plan to hold another meeting with everyone to see what can be incorporated in the contract. He said if there is something that can be done to make it easier on businesses, then they’ll do that but felt everyone was receptive and MDOT is on board with it so they’ll be looking at some solutions. Suida said there was also talk about a possibly expedited schedule through downtown but stressed everyone involved appears interested in helping out and doing their part.