The Oakland County Federal Aid Task Force, the panel that oversees the process of awarding federal transportation funds to specific road projects within Oakland County, convened on Tuesday, May 8 and decided to bump up the timelines for several lakes area road projects that had been on the back burner. The task force’s funding committee typically selects road projects in February that will receive federal funding four years in advance. However, due to an expected [...]

The West Bloomfield Schools Board of Education voted unanimously on Monday, April 30 to privatize the district’s custodial and transportation services. The school board will enter into three-year agreements with Durham School Services for transportation services, and GCA Services Group for custodial services. The number of current district employees that will be affected varies, with board Treasurer Dr. Nelson Hersh saying that 110 employees will be affected and Pam Zajac, public relations and marketing coordinator [...]

The Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) has recently submitted five west Oakland County bridge repair projects for federal funding as part of its Local Bridge Program. “These bridges need repair and replacement,” said RCOC Spokesperson Craig Bryson. “We apply for funding every year (and) there’s no guarantee we get it, but it’s the only source of funding for the Local Bridge Program to conduct replacements and preventative maintenance.” RCOC engineers identified only one full [...]

After several years of litigation, a lawsuit against the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) has been dismissed by the Michigan Supreme Court, which held that the agency can’t be sued over loose gravel that resulted in a serious motorcycle accident in White Lake Township. “The Supreme Court took this case for review so it defines the issue if there is a case in the future that’s similar. Now it will serve as a guiding [...]

A new road construction project in Commerce Township is expected to cause traffic delays for west Oakland County motorists. The Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) will begin a reconstruction project involving 1.74 miles of Commerce Road between Carroll Lake and Union Lake roads on Monday, April 16. In addition to reconstructing that stretch of roadway, the project includes traffic signal upgrades and drainage improvements. “They will be pouring mixed asphalt, along with milling down [...]

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has resumed work on a series of bridge reconstruction projects in the along I-96 east of Milford Road, just west of Kent Lake Road. The project, which resumed two weeks ago and is part of a $15.5 million effort to improve the east-west highway’s bridges, will impact the I-96 bridge over Milford Road. “It’s taking 1.5 years to complete in order to maintain as many lanes on I-96 as [...]

The Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) expects to realize a savings of roughly $1.5 million as a result of the mild winter. “With the unseasonably warm temperatures we have experienced lately, and the reduced amount and frequency of snow we saw for the last five months, we are now comfortable with the conclusion that we will, in fact, see a savings this year due to the mild winter,” said RCOC Board of Road Commissioners [...]

In lieu of the Road Commission for Oakland County’s (RCOC) grim financial forecast, the RCOC Board of Road Commissioners has unanimously voted to enact a new retirement benefit package for new, non-unionized employees hired after Feb. 29, 2012. The move is expected to save the RCOC over $5 million by 2029. The action was taken to align with proposed changes in state law and to reduce both current and future RCOC costs. One specific change [...]

West Oakland County motorists who regularly travel Walnut Lake Road at Halsted in West Bloomfield Township will need to find another route for the next week or so. The Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) issued a permit allowing an Oakland County Water Resources Commission contractor, Verdeterre Contracting, to close a half-mile section of Walnut Lake Road between the north and south Halsted Road intersections beginning tomorrow, Thursday, March 8, and continuing until approximately Monday, [...]

The Road Commission of Oakland County (RCOC) has finalized a list of road projects in its 2012 improvement program that will commence this year and target several lakes area roadways. Each project includes preliminary engineering, right-of-way acquisition and construction costs. In Walled Lake, a reconstruction and road replacement project is scheduled along Pontiac Trail, from Maple to South Commerce roads. Construction costs are pegged at $2.7 million. Work will commence sometime in June or July [...]