M-59 fence to be replaced for $2.09 million

STERLING HEIGHTS — A northern gateway along Sterling Heights’ border could soon look nicer after a majority of the Sterling Heights City Council voted to approve a plan to replace its fencing.

During an Oct. 15 meeting, the City Council voted 6-1 to allocate almost $2.09 million toward new fencing along Dobry Drive. Councilman Michael Radtke voted no.

According to the city, the repairs in question would affect around 1.3 miles of chain link fencing that separates Dobry from M-59 as the two thoroughfares run alongside each other.

City officials say the fencing between Marigold Drive, east of Ryan Road, and Utica Drive, just west of Utica Road, was installed in the 1990s and has degraded over time to the point of now being ugly and unsafe.

So to remedy this, the city says it plans to replace the old fence with sections of vinyl-coated fencing. Part of the fence near Mound Road would also have Sterling Heights-themed branding that motorists could easily see, officials said.

The project’s total cost is estimated at almost $2.09 million. The city picked Shelby Township-based Z Contractors Inc. for the job, the second lowest of three bids, since the lowest bidder, at around $1.81 million, reportedly lacked certification to complete projects associated with the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Sterling Heights City Manager Mark Vanderpool said the city would pay for the project by spending $628,000 from the city’s capital projects fund, an estimated $1.38 million in interest earnings from American Rescue Plan Act funds, and almost $421,000 in reallocated ARPA funding.

When council members spoke, Radtke questioned why the city is taking on the project instead of MDOT. City Engineer Brent Bashaw replied that MDOT wasn’t interested in the project.

“Two million dollars is a lot of money,” Radtke said. “That could buy a lot of sidewalk. That could plant a lot of trees. That could fund a big park improvement. That could do any number of things around the city that is not putting a black fence on M-59, a roadway no one wants to look at to begin with.”

Radtke later called it “insane” to spend residents’ taxpayer money to pay for what he believed was an MDOT responsibility.

Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor called the price “eye-popping” but still was in favor of approving the project to make that area of the city more aesthetically pleasing. Taylor said the city and nearby residents and businesses deserve better than the status quo.

“It’s just not an acceptable way of presenting the city,” he said.   

Before the vote, Radtke attempted to make a motion to amend the proposal to reallocate funding for the project from the ARPA fund to the city’s major roads fund, but no other council member seconded that motion.

Learn more about Sterling Heights by visiting sterlingheights.gov or by calling (586) 446-2489.