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ROCHESTER HILLS — Phase two of a major construction project on the Oakland-Macomb County border is underway, closing sections of Avon Road.
The Great Lakes Water Authority and the Road Commission for Oakland County have joined forces to coordinate a series of infrastructure improvements in the Avon Road corridor between Dequindre Road and 23 Mile Road on the border of Rochester Hills and Shelby Township.
“This is actually a pretty unique project. It’s a real collaboration between the Great Lakes Water Authority and the Road Commission,” said Craig Bryson, the spokesman for the Road Commission. “They are doing a replacement of a 96-inch water main that serves numerous communities and runs underneath the road. We needed to do some road improvements in the same area, so it gave us the chance to do two things at once.”
The two-year project — which involves the installation of a 96-inch GLWA water transmission main, the removal and replacement of a bridge, pedestrian safety upgrades, and the construction of two roundabouts — kicked off in November 2021.
Cheryl Porter, the chief operating officer for the GLWA, said the new 96-inch water transmission main is of the utmost importance to increase reliability.
“This will provide treated drinking water to more than a million people in Oakland, Macomb and Lapeer counties,” she explained.
The project, she said, will also improve access for operations and maintenance, relocate the water main outside of businesses and backyards, and improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety at critical intersections. The GLWA will continue to provide drinking water to the communities it serves throughout construction.
“Collaborations like the one between GLWA and the Road Commission are critical to ensuring we continue to provide water of unquestionable quality to our member partners,” Porter said in a statement. “By coordinating these large infrastructure projects, we reduce the impact of construction on local communities.”
Phase one of the project was completed in August with the construction of a roundabout at the Avon/Dequindre intersection and a new Avon Road bridge over the Clinton River.
“It was a tricky intersection, and the roundabout seems to be working out well,” Bryson said.
Phase two of the project, which kicked off Dec. 5, involves constructing a roundabout at the Avon and 23 Mile Road intersection, and reconstructing and widening East Avon Road between the two intersections to provide a center left turn lane. Phase two also includes the installation of 2,200 linear feet of 96-inch diameter welded steel pipe and replacing a corrugated metal pipe culvert at the Yates mill race.
The work requires east Avon Road to be closed to through traffic between the Avon and Dequindre Road roundabout to just west of the intersection of 23 Mile and Dequindre through approximately mid-August 2023. Starting in early April 2023, the intersection of 23 Mile and Dequindre will also be closed to through traffic for construction of the roundabout.
The detour for the east Avon Road closure is Dequindre Road to Hamlin Road, east to Ryan Road, north to 23 Mile Road and west back to Dequindre Road, and vice versa.
The $8.7 million project is funded with federal, Road Commission and GLWA dollars. Rochester, Rochester Hills, Shelby Township and the Macomb County Department of Roads are also partners in the multiphase project, which is expected to be complete in 2023.
Oakland County Road Commission Board of Commissioners Chair Andrea LaLonde said the project is a great example of public agencies “working together to provide the best long-term outcome for our mutual customers while also reducing the short-term impact during construction.”
“The Dequindre/23 Mile roundabout will enhance traffic and pedestrian safety at the intersection and traffic flow along the corridor,” she said in a statement.
For more information, visit glwater.org/96inchwatermain or call (877) 237-7311.
