Macomb Township Trustees approve $3.25 million Garfield reconstruction

MACOMB TOWNSHIP — The expansion on Garfield Road is far from over, and not even the existing roadway is safe from the call of the construction barrels.

On April 24, the Macomb Township Board of Trustees agreed to a $3.25 million cost-sharing agreement with the Macomb County Department of Roads to reconstruct Garfield Road between 21 Mile and Hall roads.

Originally stemming from a request to the roads department to build bypass lanes, the county reexamined the Hall-21 Mile stretch and determined the work’s scope needed to be increased.

“They have found that there are sections of Garfield in that area that are not in good condition and really need to be reconstructed,” Macomb Township Land Development Director James Van Tiflin said. “What they are requesting from the township is that we enter into this cost-sharing agreement to actually reconstruct Garfield in that entire mile as a three-lane road.”

Van Tiflin told trustees a middle turning lane would be added. This layout would preserve the center lane that is present throughout Clinton Township’s stretch of Garfield Road.

While reconstruction work on the Hall-21 Mile stretch is scheduled to begin once Garfield’s northward expansion is completed in 2025 at the earliest, a $300,000 advance deposit on the project will be paid out once the agreement is signed. Language in the agreement states the county roads department will “offer a modified Cost Share Agreement to reflect that new construction cost and breakdown of cost sharing” if the project’s contract is “significantly higher or lower” than the $3.25 million estimate.

Recreation center roof replacement

Over 53,000 square feet of rubber roofing membrane on top of the township recreation center will be replaced at a cost of over $1.56 million by Quality Roofing of Whitmore Lake.

Kevin Johnson, Macomb Township Department of Public Works director, expects the work to begin in September due to school roofing projects likely taking priority over the summer. Johnson also told trustees the bid from Quality Roofing is higher than the original $1 million budget put forth by Parks and Recreation Director Salvatore DiCaro and that the higher cost has been “incorporated into the budget.” A contractor with a lower bid withdrew its bid in March.

Even with the higher cost and lengthy time until the work begins, Township Supervisor Frank Viviano and Township Clerk Kristi Pozzi expressed relief that the roof would finally be fixed.

“I don’t know if anybody has been in the rec center when it’s been raining, but there has been leaks in the main hallways since I’ve been here,” Viviano said.