If you drive Baldwin Road between Morgan and Waldon on a regular basis, you could be dealing with congestion a while longer as the Road Commission for Oakland County waits for funding to widen that stretch of Baldwin to a boulevard.
The Orion Area Chamber of Commerce welcomed road commission managing director Brett Bair to its April 1 luncheon so he could address the widening of Baldwin. Oakland County Commissioner Eric Wilson, also in attendance, said the project was a traffic concern, affecting qualify of life for Orion residents.
‘There’s a six-year bill for traffic funding before Congress,? he said. ‘If we don’t get in this year, it could be six more before we do.?
Bair said Baldwin Road is part of a bigger concern affecting the county.
‘Congestion is all over Oakland County, and that’s due partly to our success,? he said. ‘There’s a lack of funding, and we’re approaching gridlock faster than any other area in Michigan.?
Bair said in the next 10 years, the road commission was looking at $1.3 billion in widening projects just for county roads alone. Two-five lanes of widening costs $6 million per mile.
‘The cost of right away is also a problem…it’s getting very expensive to buy land in Oakland County,? he added. ‘The road commission doesn’t get money from new development, we get our funds from the gas tax and license plate fees.?
According to Bair, 75 percent of the federal gas tax money goes to the Michigan Department of Transportation, leaving the road commission with 25 percent to share with municipalities.
On the funding committee that determines which road projects get top priority, Bair said the road commission gets two votes and the township three. Crash reduction garners the most number of points for rating projects near the top.
‘We had 21.8 million available for projects last year, and $186.1 million in projects requested before all construction costs were added,? added Bair.
Some smaller projects will soon be set in motion to help alleviate some of the problems on Baldwin Road near I-75 and the Baldwin Commons shopping center.
‘Traffic backs up on northbound Baldwin at the Commons because there’s not enough storage for vehicles wanting to turnaround,? Bair said.
‘We’re going to close the light by the shopping center entrance (but keep the light at Brown Road), and move the light further north, providing more room for storage of vehicles,? he said.
Bair said that project will be designed this year and constructed in 2005, at a cost of $325,000, with the road commission paying the entire bill.
Orion Township Treasurer James Marleau asked if the road commission could have signing changed on I-75 instructing people to use the second exit for Great Lakes Crossing, to ease Baldwin traffic.
‘That decision is ultimately MDOT’s,? Bair said. ‘But we’ll raise the issue with them.?
The road commission has been working with Orion Township since 1988 to find funding to widen Baldwin Road to two-four lanes from Morgan to Waldon, with five lanes in Gingelleville,
‘We’ve submitted this to the funding committee every year and they have turned it down…they said don’t bother in 2004,? said Bair. ‘Baldwin did not rank high enough for funding from them.?
The road commission is now working with congressman Mike Rogers to go after federal money for the project.
‘We want to get federal ‘earmarked? funding from the reauthorization bill, which would be for $25 million over six years,? Bair said. ‘We also have an application for 2005 for $750,000 from the 2005 federal budget to start preliminary design work on widening Baldwin.
‘We’ve pursued every area we can think of,? he said. ‘We’ve gone to all the wells, and many of them are dry.?
Orion Township Clerk Jill Bastian asked if the township would be required to have a local match for funds with the road commission for the federal money.
‘It’d be 80-20, and the road commission would split that 10-10 with Orion Township,? Bair said.
‘So we should be earmarking some dollars,? said Bastian.
‘What’s the percentage that you see that we might get that money in the next four years?? asked Orion Township Trustee Richard Tomczak.
‘It’s still up for grabs, but there are $11 billion of earmarked projects before congress, nationwide,? Bair said. ‘I can’t give you a percentage, it’s all in the air.?
Bair said the plan would be for Baldwin to be a boulevard with five lanes in Gingellville including a turn lane.
‘If we went with the boulevard (in Gingellville), we’d take a lot more land,? he said.
Gingellville resident Sue Dorris asked if residents would have a say in the design.
‘We’ll have an extensive hearing process,? Bair said. ‘We’ll go out in the community and the engineers will put the plans up on the walls.
‘We’ll attempt to accommodate whatever (residents) bring up as best we can.?
Chamber member Joyce Shobe said it might be a good idea for the road commission to try to pursue some funding from developers.
‘We cannot get money out of developers unless there’s enabling legislature,? said Bair. ‘We’ve been trying for years to get that in place.?
Chamber managing director Donna Heyniger wanted to know if the consideration of emergency vehicles trying to get through the Baldwin area was a consideration.
‘Are we thinking of our senior citizens in that area?? she asked.
‘That’s a consideration, but the highest point-getter in that equation are the accidents,? Bair said. ‘We know people are getting hurt (on Baldwin), but we have to fix the problems where people are getting hurt today…we’re working on projects right now with higher crash rates.?
Asked what local people could do to help speed the project along, Bair responded ‘contact your congressman.?