W. Oakland road projects continue to hinder motorists

Pontiac Trail between M-5 and Welch Road in Commerce Township was closed on Sunday, June 26 so construction crews could begin work on the new roundabout at the intersection of M-5, Pontiac Trail and Martin Parkway.

The stretch of roadway was expected to close Thursday, June 23, but inclement weather delayed the closure.

Once completed, the M-5/Pontiac Trail/Martin Parkway roundabout will be the largest to date in Oakland County.

Drivers may be compelled to seek alternate routes during roundabout construction.

During the Pontiac Trail closure, traffic isn’t permitted to travel from eastbound Pontiac Trail to southbound M-5 or from northbound M-5 to westbound Pontiac Trail. The detour route for traffic that would normally travel along Pontiac Trail between M-5 and Welch Road will be Welch Road to Maple Road to Haggerty Road and back to Pontiac Trail, and vice versa.

Pontiac Trail east of M-5 will remain open, and traffic will be permitted to travel from northbound M-5 to eastbound Pontiac Trail and from westbound Pontiac Trail to southbound M-5, but traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction.

Local businesses will remain open during the closure.

“Over the next several weeks, they will be taking out the existing pavement and simultaneously building new storm sewers,” said Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) Spokesperson Craig Bryson.

Work is expected to be completed around Nov. 1. The project is expected to help mitigate traffic congestion at the intersection of M-5, Pontiac Trail, and Martin Parkway. Once finished, most of the roundabout will be two lanes, with three lanes at the north end.

No closures during

Crescent Lake work

The RCOC is gearing up to begin a project to add a right-turn lane on southbound Crescent Lake Road at the north side of M-59 in Waterford Township sometime in mid- to late-July.

Waterford Township officials voted to allocate a portion of the community’s Tri-party Program funds to mitigate significant traffic back up along the roadway. By installing the right-turn lane, the intersection is expected to become safer for motorists and emergency vehicles by decreasing the length and time that fire and police vehicles are forced to travel southbound against traffic. Both the township police station and fire department headquarters are located off Crescent Lake Road north of M-59.

Total project costs are estimated at $153,000 and will be split three ways between Waterford Township, the RCOC, and the county government.

The RCOC awarded the project contract to Cadillac Asphalt of Canton.

“There will no road closures — just one lane open in either direction through the intersection,” Bryson said.

He added there would be little impact to traffic, only intermittent delays.

I-96 bridge work

to delay motorists

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will begin a massive $15.5-million bridge reconstruction project beginning after the July 4 holiday, given the “structurally deficient” conditions of several bridges in Oakland County.

Four-fifths of the project funding will be provided by federal sources, with the remaining 20 percent covered by MDOT.

The bridges that require repairs are located in the general vicinity of I-96 east of Milford Road and just west of Kent Lake Road.

The first bridge project will be work on the bridge over the Huron Valley Trail east of Milford Road.

To mitigate the heavy stream of traffic in the area, MDOT will be investing dollars to divert motorists via a movable barrier wall to maintain three lanes for eastbound I-96 traffic during peak hours on weekdays from 5 to 9 a.m. From 3 to 6 p.m., the barrier wall will be moved for westbound I-96 traffic. During non-peak hours, traffic will be limited to two lanes.

During the project, the Huron River Trail will be closed between Pontiac Trail and I-96 to replace the bridge during 2011 and heading into 2012.

A second project planned in 2011 is the I-96 bridge over Kent Lake Road. Again, MDOT will be erecting a movable barrier. A closure will be in place from the entrance ramp to westbound I-96 from Kent Lake Road.

Once the barrier wall is erected, traffic will be detoured to Grand River and to Milford Road to get onto westbound I-96.

In conjunction, crews will be reconstructing the substructure of this bridge to repair its support mechanisms.

In 2012, MDOT will begin work on the driving surface over the Huron River Trail, Milford Road and Kent Lake Road.

The round of bridge reconstruction projects will begin after July 4, stop for the winter shutdown in early December and resume in the spring.

All projects are expected to be completed at the end of November 2012.

P. Trail/Maple work

continues into July

In Walled Lake, the completion of the heavy maintenance project at the intersection of Pontiac Trail and Maple Road is still expected to be completed after the July 4 holiday.

Due to crews being pulled off that project to facilitate other road work, the intersection project’s completion has been delayed.

“They still have not had a whole lot of time to devote to it, but we plan for crews to be out there a couple days this week and next,” Bryson said.

Costs and work will be covered by the RCOC.

The project, which began May 10, is intended to provide a temporary repair for the highly-deteriorated pavement in the area. A full reconstruction of the intersection is planned for 2012.

Work is taking place as crews are available on weekdays between approximately 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. During the work, one lane in each direction on Pontiac Trail and Maple east of Pontiac Trail will remain open, but motorists should expect delays.

Work will include removing all old pothole patching material, removing any loose concrete, applying new hot-mix asphalt patching material and then compacting it with a roller.