With Ypsilanti not slated for federal road dollars, projects like Grove Road repaving in question
A deteriorating section of Grove Road near the City of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township's border.
Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com
For several years, Ypsilanti Township residents living in the neighborhood behind the Gault Village Shopping Plaza at Grove Road and the I-94 Service Drivehave been wondering when a disintegrating stretch of Grove Road will be repaved.
The answer from City of Ypsilanti officials: not this year. And possibly not until beyond 2014. The road is among the city’s top priorities, but road construction funds are drying up the next two fiscal years.
Still, officials are exploring their options.
“Getting this road paved is one of the top priorities and we’re working on ways to get it done as soon as possible,” council member Brian Robb said.
Stan Kirton, director of Ypsilanti's Department of Public Works, said the city simply doesn’t have the funds to do the estimated $600,000 road reconstruction. He acknowledged the road is in poor condition and said crews are trying to keep it patched.
Carrie Phillips is one of several township residents in the neighborhood who have asked Township Supervisor Brenda Stumbo about the road. Phillips said the deteriorating stretch is a regular topic at neighborhood watch meetings, and, when Stumbo visited the meeting last month, many were surprised to hear the road is located in the city of Ypsilanti.
The border between the township and city runs down Emerick Road, which dead-ends at a southwest angle into Grove Road. The area south and east of Emerick and Grove is the township. A small slice of land that includes the road north and west of Emerick belongs to the city.
But Phillips said residents are tired of the inaction no matter who is responsible for the road.
“We’re all frustrated,” she said. “A lot of us have lived here for years and years and it’s just frustrating that nothing gets done. We keep hearing the same answer. I guess it would be nice if someone would do something instead of saying that they don’t have the money.”
Grove Road near the Ypsilanti Township and City of Ypsilanti border.
Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com
Kirton said the city won’t be receiving federal road money over the next two fiscal years because it received more than its allotment in recent years.
Federal road money is distributed in the county via the Washtenaw Area Transportation Study. WATS Director Terri Blackmore explained Ypsilanti was “frontloaded” with funds since 2009. It received $571,000 in fiscal year 2009, which is twice what should have been allotted.
Ypsilanti received no federal funds in fiscal 2010, $700,000 in fiscal 2011 and $212,000 in the current fiscal year.
Blackmore said all federal road funds will soon be cut by 36 percent, due in part to less fuel consumption in a tough economy.
“We have to be fair over time to everyone,” Blackmore said. “The level of federal funds is going down, we’re going to be very short on money. Everyone is in the same position.”
Kirton said the city also stands to lose some funding because its population shrank in the last census. But officials in Ypsilanti say the Grove Road is a priority for repaving, along with West Cross Street and Huron River Drive.
The road is receiving extra stress because the Washtenaw County Road Commission, which is responsible for all township roads, slimmed down the road in the township from four lanes to two and added a bike lane when it was last repaved, Kirton said. Grove remains two lanes wide in either direction in the city.
Kirton said he suggests people drive slower than the posted 25 mph speed limit when driving through the area.
“We understand that road is in bad shape, and we would love to do the road, but we just don’t have the funds,” he said. “The township has been working with us and making suggestions, but we just don’t have money right now.”
Comments
Corby
Thu, Aug 11, 2011 : 4:51 a.m.
This spring I paid $500 to repair my vehicle. I asked my trusted mechanic if I'd done something to cause the failure. His reply, "Driving on Michigan roads." Economists estimate that bad roads cost average drivers more than $300 per year. If you asked many drivers to pay even $100 more a year in tax to maintain good roads they'd be livid, likewise if you asked them to support more efficient public transit which alleviates wear and tear on roads. The ratio for maintaining vs. rebuilding a road is 7 to 1. $1 to maintain a Grove, Huron or Cross vs. $7 to rebuild. You can fix your leaky roof now or pay later to fix it along with the water damage its done. We need to get smarter about connecting the dots even if it's just a few dots: bad roads cost me a lot of money in car maintenance. Taxes can fix roads and save me money. Sometimes taxes save me money.
John B.
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 5:59 p.m.
Speaking of disasters that are roads, what's the status of the Stadium Road bridge project? Not a peep about it out there since about April, as far as I can tell....
foobar417
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 6:54 p.m.
<a href="http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/project_management/Pages/EastStadiumBridges.aspx" rel='nofollow'>http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/project_management/Pages/EastStadiumBridges.aspx</a> Anticipated Project Schedule Amend planning docs w/FHWA & MDOT to recieve federal funding - February, 2011 Council Approve Funding Agreements and other related documents - April, 2011 Execute Funding Agreement with USDOT - May, 2011 Finalize ROW Acquistion - Certify ROW to FHWA/MDOT - May, 2011 Finalize Construction Plans and Specifications - June, 2011 Advertise Project through MDOT - July, 2011 Receive Bids through MDOT - September, 2011 Begin Construction - October, 2011 Open E. Stadium Boulevard to Traffic - Fall 2012
BobbyTarsus
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 3:46 p.m.
the stretch of W. Cross St. west of the water tower is a nightmare as well. Just as bad as Grove. It too has been that way for years. Time to buy a moped and ride the sidewalks!
jns131
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 3:40 p.m.
I still can't figure out why they are doing Holmes road in Ypsilanti rather then Grove road. Grove is horrible. They rebuilt Holmes from Prospect on and past the hi school. Kind of sucks they don't have the money for that one. Guess it is all priorities.
H.
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 2:44 p.m.
Why are your guys shooting Ypsi Township? It is not their jurisdiction. If the shoe were on the other foot (problem in Ypsi Township), your Council would be saying Ah shucks too. Get real you hypocrites. If you want the road fixed, pass a road millage like Ypsi Township or sell bonds. You get what you pay for folks.
Cash
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 2:53 p.m.
Hypocrites? LOL When Ypsi Township passed a millage for road repairs, why do their roads on the northern side of the township look like moon craters? People in northern Ypsi Township do NOT get what they pay for.
djacks24
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 2:22 p.m.
"He acknowledged the road is in poor condition and said crews are trying to keep it patched." How do you patch rubble?
grimmk
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 2:38 p.m.
Save up all that patching money to FIX the road.
djacks24
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 2:19 p.m.
"not this year. And possibly not until beyond 2014." I honestly shudder to speculate what that road will be like in 2014. If I ever need to travel around that area, I'll intentionally cut through the neighborhood around that area to get where I need to go. I just feel really bad for the property owners of that area. So much residential area around there, with so many people trying to keep their homes looking nice and trying not to let their neighborhood slide into a foreclosure wasteland. Then the main drag to and around their neighborhood is in this condition! What does this do to their already devastated property values?
Thomas
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 5:21 p.m.
"What does this do to their already devastated property values? You don't want to know.
lumberg48108
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 2:09 p.m.
If there is no money for roads - why is there money to "redo" all the street corners along Huron River Drive (east of Whittaker)? This road is not bad enough (yet) to keep me from going to the ACO at the shopping center, but it soon will be and then I will get on the highway and go to Canton as they have eveything I need on Michigan Ave and Beck - and its quicker then going to Ann Arbor or other parts of Ypsi
Jack
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 4:03 p.m.
I believe the street corners are being redone in order to comply with the Disabilities Act.
Cash
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 2:06 p.m.
Tom, Ha! That road is nothing...at least there's a path you can take through the holes to get through it all.....take a picture from Clark Road up the hill on N River....no way to avoid the holes that destroyed 2 of my new tires over the past 20 years. Ypsi Township seems to only care about it's precious Whittaker Rd corridor....where the paved roads repaved after a few years of use..... are named after politicians... former board members.
naturally
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 7:39 p.m.
You're right, Prospect is horrible too.
Jack
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 4:02 p.m.
Actually "that" road is hideous. I don't live around there but have driven it. It's awful.
Cash
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 2:48 p.m.
grimmk ...and Prospect is getting just as bad!
grimmk
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 2:38 p.m.
THIS! I avoid that section of the road at all costs and will gladly take the long way around by going on LeForge or Prospect.
Richard Carter
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 1:41 p.m.
I was going to suggest that a stretch of Glazier Way between Green Rd. going a few blocks eastward be fixed... but then I saw the photo of Grove above and realized I think I can make do until that gets fixed.
Chazwitty
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 1:06 p.m.
I have lived in that neighborhood for 4 years now and that road has been in terrible shape since then. I suggest that the city and township work together to come up with a interim solution to fixing that road. The residents of the Ypsilanti Community deserve better, WATS and the county should be ashamed of that road.
UM Rocks
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 12:52 p.m.
Why didn't they use the money that they are spending to add the (unneeded, in my opinion) right turn lane at Washtenaw and Oakwood at EMU's entrance? I really think that project could have been put on the back burner if Grove is so terrible and its going to be a couple more years before they have the funds!!
foobar417
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 12:59 p.m.
The money for the Oakwood intersection is coming from an MDOT Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant. <a href="http://www.annarbor.com/news/officials-make-adjustments-to-washtenaw-avenue-and-oakwood-street-summer-construction-plans/">http://www.annarbor.com/news/officials-make-adjustments-to-washtenaw-avenue-and-oakwood-street-summer-construction-plans/</a> It's not general fund money that can be arbitrarily applied.
obviouscomment
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 12:45 p.m.
I started to assume that the lower speed limit on that stretch of Grove was a result of the road conditions. Most of Grove is 30/35 I believe, and then that stretch is 25...was that their effort to fix it?
dotdash
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 12:34 p.m.
Do we *only* pave with federal highway dollars now? no federal dollars = no repaving? That *almost* sounds as if the federal government was doing something good that the community can't afford to do for itself. Yikes!
deb
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 12:25 p.m.
Don't feel alone ypsi, the stretch of dexter/stadium and then where the road turns to Huron in Ann Arbor is just as bad. Our city gov. docent comment on it, they just chose to act like it dose not exist
Jack
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 4 p.m.
Not even close. Take a drive down Grove.
foobar417
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 2:05 p.m.
I'm not sure what stretches you are referring to. If you are talking about Dexter, it goes from the Jackson/Huron infrastructure westward. They are redoing the stretch from that intersection to Maple, which is the bad stretch of Dexter. If you are talking about Jackson or Huron, which are also in bad shape, that's a totally different issue. Yes they are in bad shape. The city doesn't control Jackson or Huron because that is Business 94. The state does. The state is the only entity allowed to fix it. The city can't do anything about it other than plead to the state.
deb
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 1:25 p.m.
They are doing one small part of it, not the main stretch, or the larger road that leads into Huron
foobar417
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 12:54 p.m.
Not true. <a href="http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/project_management/upcomingprojects/Pages/De.aspx" rel='nofollow'>http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/project_management/upcomingprojects/Pages/De.aspx</a>
Thomas
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 12:23 p.m.
This part of Grove Rd started to crumble soon after it was finished. I believe the company who poured the concrete should repair it since they obviously don't know how to mix cement properly. Why they didn't use blacktop and paid for concrete is beyond me. The road is so bad cars are using the bike lane which is dangerous for cyclists like myself. I'm sure something will get done once a cyclist is hit or worse, killed on that stretch of road.
Ignatz
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 11:39 a.m.
I suspected that nothing would be done about that road, but it's good to know that in fact, nothing will be done. I can stress out about other things now. BTW, were those crazy looking curbs being put on Cross part of some special fund for such things or did the City choose to do them out of a more general fund?
grimmk
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 2:36 p.m.
I think the putting in of all the new curbs and such were a new state law. I've seen them do dozens of new curbs and yet all the roads are falling apart! Cross/LeForge...lots of sections of Prospect.... and many more roads need repair!