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ROCHESTER HILLS — A portion of Walton Boulevard is down to two lanes due to construction, which means traffic delays for many motorists in Rochester Hills.
Crews began working on resurfacing Walton between Adams and Livernois roads April 15, reducing traffic to one lane in each direction.
“They are going to keep traffic open both ways during construction, so traffic will be maintained — there’s no detour — but there will be a holdup during rush hours for sure,” said Rochester Hills Department of Public Services Director Bill Fritz. “It will be short-term pain, long-term gain.”
Access to homes and businesses along the road will be maintained throughout the project, according to the Road Commission for Oakland County.
Road Commission officials said this section of Walton carries approximately 32,770 vehicles daily.
“This is a very busy road. It carries more than 32,000 vehicles a day, and it will remain open with one lane in each direction, so that’s going to significantly reduce the amount of traffic it can carry at any given time,” said Craig Bryson, a spokesman for the Road Commission. “It will certainly be congested during construction, but there are some alternative parallel routes that people in the area are familiar with in the community.”
The $4.4 million project is funded mainly with federal dollars, with local match provided by the Road Commission, the city of Rochester Hills and Oakland County through the Tri-Party Program.
“We’re happy to partner with the county on this much-needed improvement of the road. It’s one of the roads that needs some attention,” said Fritz.
The project, according to Bryson, is a continuation of the Road Commission’s efforts to improve the Walton corridor.
“The pavement has certainly deteriorated and needs to be repaired,” Bryson said. “It was beyond the point where we could do a simple overlay — which would have just put asphalt on top of the existing roads — so we had to remove the existing pavement in order to put down completely new pavement.”
The 2.2-mile project — assigned to contractor Pro-Pine Asphalt of Washington Township — includes removing the existing pavement and repaving Walton from Adams Road to east of Livernois Road with asphalt, replacing a culvert under the road, replacing some curbs and gutters, and upgrading pedestrian crosswalks to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The project is expected to be complete by mid-August.
“The work will give it a new lifetime of 20-plus years and, obviously, provide a smooth new surface once we’re done that will be both better to drive on, more aesthetically appealing and less frustrating for those people hitting potholes,” Bryson added.
For more information, visit www.rcocweb.org/684/Walton-Boulevard-AdamsRoad-to-Livernois or call the Road Commis sion at (877) 858-4808.
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