On Wednesday, Aug. 31, the Oakland County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution sponsored by Commissioners Dave Woodward, Gary McGillivray and Wade Fleming securing $77,231 in funding for a local road project in the City of Royal Oak. Oakland County’s contribution will assist in the completion of an estimated $1,040,000 project to reconstruct portions of Meijer Drive, which provides access to numerous area businesses and facilities, including an emergency medical center, and serves as an important connection between Coolidge Highway and Crooks Road.
“My five-year-old would tell me, ‘Daddy this road needs to be fixed,’ every time when we would go grocery shopping,” said Woodward (D-Royal Oak), and chair of the Democratic Caucus. “I’m proud we led the county to create this new program to help cities and villages fix and repair roads. This countywide program leveraged $8 million in road projects in virtually every city across the county.”
“I’m am very pleased to have had the opportunity to play a role in getting cities and villages, including the City of Royal Oak, some tax dollars from the county to help with local roads,” stated McGillivray.
“I am pleased to join with Commissioners McGillivray and Woodward in securing county funds for the City of Royal Oak. This new Pilot Road Funding Program has been enthusiastically received by the Oakland County communities I represent in the 16th District. The City of Royal Oak will be receiving over $75,000 to reconstruct portions of Meijer Drive and, while there are no guarantees, we are working toward offering this or a similar program again next year,” stated Fleming.
City Engineer Matthew J. Callahan indicated his appreciation, on behalf of the City of Royal Oak, to Commissioners Woodward, McGillivray and Fleming for their work securing funding to improve local roads by stating, “The City of Royal Oak is very pleased and appreciative of the award of Oakland County funds towards the reconstruction of Meijer Drive east of Coolidge Highway. This heavily travelled road was originally constructed in the mid-1970s as part of the Meijer development and is now in desperate need of a major overhaul. This section of road provides access not just to the Meijer store but also to the Oakland Technical Center and both northern Royal Oak and southern Troy industrial areas. The county’s local road improvement matching fund pilot program grant towards Meijer Drive will certainly help the city to meet the funding needs of this very costly project.”
Funding for the project has been made available from Oakland County’s new Local Road Improvement Pilot Program. This program provides limited financial assistance to Oakland County cities and villages for repairs and improvements on roadways under their jurisdiction. Local municipalities must match funding from Oakland County and projects should supplement, not replace, existing local road repair efforts. The Oakland County Board of Commissioners allocated up to $1,000,000 in matching funds to launch the program in 2016. Communities are allocated a share of these funds based upon a formula consisting of road miles, population and crash data. The program supplements the long-standing Tri-Party Road Improvement Program, which provides a 1/3 share in matching funds for repairs on local roadways under the control of the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC).
Board Chairman Michael J. Gingell explained the purpose of the pilot program by stating, “The long-term lack of investment from the state and federal governments in local road infrastructure has taken a heavy toll on our roadways. Poor conditions on our roads create an impediment to the economic development of our region and diminish the excellent quality of life our residents expect. While Oakland County government has no statutory responsibility to provide funding for local roads, County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and the Board of Commissioners are working together to leverage limited county funds to be a part of an interim solution addressing the most pressing repair and maintenance needs.”
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