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Politics & Government

Get Ready for Roadwork Along M-59 Starting Aug. 15

The $4 million resurfacing project will stretch nine miles from White Lake to Highland; lane closures will mostly be kept to the evenings and early mornings, officials say.

A nine-mile stretch of Highland Road between Pontiac Lake Road in White Lake and Milford Road in Highland will undergo a $4 million resurfacing project starting Aug. 15. The project will include the entire stretch of Highland Road through White Lake Township. 

All four lanes and all left-turn lanes will be resurfaced from mid-August through November in a project that will be paid for by gas taxes. That means 80 percent of the cost will come from federal funding and 20 percent from the state of Michigan, said Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) spokesman Rob Morosi. 

The resurfacing will largely take place during evening and nighttime hours, from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekdays, Morosi said, as a way to limit congestion and negative impacts on the many businesses along that route. State Sen. Mike Kowall (R-White Lake), the former White Lake Township supervisor, and his wife, state Rep. Eileen Kowall (R-White Lake), will host an open house with MDOT officials Monday starting at noon to answer questions from the public about the project. 

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“There is a lot of concern about the impact this project would have because this is such a (busy) business artery,” Morosi said. “We will be able to conduct just about all of the resurfacing after (rush hour) during the week. There will be some work that will be done during the day on the weekends, but we’ll try to limit that as well.” 

No more than one lane will be closed in each direction at any point during the project, Morosi said. Since federal dollars are being used to pay for a majority of this project, there will be other ramp upgrades that will be required by the American Disabilities Act (ADA) as well. 

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The open house will be designed to show a level of partnership between MDOT and the local business community, Morosi said. 

“We’re sensitive to the business issues, but this is a project that needs to be completed,” Morosi said. 

MDOT last resurfaced that stretch of Highland Road in 1997. The department also filled in some of the cracks on the road in 2001, a process designed to prevent moisture from seeping below the pavement, Morosi said. 

According to MDOT figures, an average of 29,000 vehicles travel that stretch of Highland Road westbound each day while an average of 35,000 vehicles drive on it eastbound.

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