Repairs to address drainage problem to start this week

The Drayton Plains Drain stormwater emergency repair project along Williams Lake Road in Waterford Township is slated to begin this week after contractor issues delayed the work, which was originally set to begin the week of Aug. 24.

“Our first contractor backed out and the new contractor needed to do emergency repairs in South Lyon first, so we had to push the date back,” explained Oakland County Water Resources Commission (WRC) Assistant Chief Engineer Glenn Appel.

The contractor is Pacitto & Forest Construction based out of Wixom.

Stormwater that accumulates in the area is channeled from the Drayton Plans Drain and into the Clinton River. The existing drain was built in the early 1900s and is now functioning poorly. Approximately 300 lineal feet of concrete pipe will be needed to clean out about 530 lineal feet within the Drayton Plains Drain in the area of Williams Lake Road near the intersection of Hatfield Road, west of Dixie Highway.

Project costs are pegged at $150,000 and will be assumed by the 240 property owners within the Drayton Plains Drainage District, as well as Waterford Township, the Road Commission for Oakland County, the Michigan Department of Transportation and the CSX Railroad.

Since the amount of work necessary to rectify the flooding problem exceeds what is considered normal maintenance, costs are passed onto consumers in accordance with the Drain Code of 1956. Those property owners in the Drayton Plains Drainage District will pay for the project over a five-year period through a special assessment district (SAD).

During the project, there may be flaggers in the area during the first week to direct traffic.

“There will be minimal impact to traffic and most of the work will be conducted on the south side of the road. I don’t anticipate traffic back-ups,” Appel said.

The project is expected to take about three weeks to complete.