Amanda Forrester / news@whmi.com

Wixom is updating some of their traffic signals and pedestrian crossing beacons, which they say will help reduce the number of vehicular and pedestrian accidents in the area.

During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the council voted on a proposal to pay Hubbell, Roth and Clark, a consulting engineering firm, for “the Wixom Road traffic signal modernizations and Potter Road rectangular rapid flashing beacon upgrades and pedestrian crossing installation.”

The project would see the upgrade of two existing beacons and the addition of another on Potter Road. The three beacons will be at Beechnut Drive, Flamingo and Bell Coney Streets. The Wixom Road upgrades will be at Maple and Charms Roads.

Wixom applied for a MDOT Fiscal Year 2026 Safety Grant with help from the consulting engineering firm in April of this year, which they were granted.

According to the packet for Tuesday’s meeting, the MDOT Safety Grant will cover 90% of both projects, totaling $726,314 for the Wixom Road project and $574,047 for Potter Road.

There will be a local match of $80,781 to cover the rest of the cost for the Wixom Road signal modernization and $63,783 for the Potter Road projects.

The local match amount is estimated based on previous projects. Officials said they expect most of the work to be completed next year, meaning the funds would need to be included in the 2026 budget.

In the proposal during Tuesday’s meeting, it is projected to cost the city $99,225 for the “engineering expense” ahead of the bidding process. This will cover the cost of Hubble, Roth and Clark designing the plans for the upgrades.

The proposal passed unanimously.

When asked about future updates to other crossings, Director of Public Works Tim Sikma said there was an application for another grant that would cover the whole city. He said he hoped to be able to give more information about it during the next meeting, which will be on Nov. 26.

The next City Council meeting will be Nov. 26.