US-23 project stays on track; MDOT hosts meeting Tuesday
Neither rain, nor snow, or cut fiberoptic lines will stop the US-23 reconstruction project. It?s slowed things somewhat, but construction crews from Cordes Excavating continue to clip right along toward the late July completion date. The project had its biggest setback a couple of weeks ago when Old Man Winter blasted the area with a couple of feet of snow, but the project pretty much remains on track.
?We?re close,? said Tom Hilberg, resident engineer from the Michigan Department of Transportation service center in Alpena. ?That week of snow did slow us down.?
Hilberg said Cordes Excavating has a sufficient workforce on site. ?Even with days like today when they would rather not be working, they are still working,? said Hilberg of the snow flurries Tuesday.
?We want to have that at least open for the Nautical Festival,? said Hilberg. ?Maybe we wouldn?t have all the asphalt on there, but we would like to have at least two courses of it on there.?
Work has been exclusively within the Rogers City limits this week.
MDOT HAS an informational meeting planned in council chambers at city hall in Rogers City Tuesday, from 5 to 7 p.m. Hilberg said while they?ll be talking about the US-23 project, MDOT officials also will be available to discuss the non-motorized trail extension project. Construction on the trail is set to begin this summer.
US-23 reconstruction includes the installation of storm sewer drains, the widening of the road to add a middle turn lane in Rogers City, and curb and gutter work through the business corridor. People who live on Bradley Highway, run a business, or travel through the area, aren?t the only ones affected by the project as a gas line was ruptured last week, forcing a callout of the Rogers City Fire Department.
Last Thursday, crews cut a fiber optic line near McDonald?s, and many people couldn?t call long distance, or heard busy signals when they made a local call. Long distance calls also couldn?t come in from outside the area. The situation was a major safety concerns at the Presque Isle County Sheriff?s Department, as 911 was down for a time.
WHEN A UTILITY service is interrupted, a report has to be turned into the Michigan Public Service Commission and Hilberg said it?s not always the contractor?s fault. ?If the contractor knows the pipe is there and goes down there and breaks it, then he probably is going to be back-charged for that,? said Hilberg. ?Sometimes there are service leads going everywhere. They didn?t mark one, and the contractor broke it. That becomes their (the utility?s) problem. It just depends,? he said. ?Every situation is individual.? MDOT has talked with people who have been affected by the project.
?For example, when we put the sewer past the Montessori School, we made sure that they had at least one driveway open for when the kids had to be picked up in the afternoon, and when they were dropped off in the morning,? said Hilberg. ?We wanted to make sure it was safe for the mothers and grandparents at the end of the day.?
HILBERG HAS appreciated the cooperation they?ve received. When water was turned off, the school was closed for half the day. ?It?s nice when people work with us like that,? said Hilberg. ?Sometimes we have to shut the water off, or we have to shut your gas off for a short period of time.
Drivers also are doing their part, according to Hilberg, and he hopes they continue to travel through the construction zones as safely as possible. The speed limit has been reduced to 35 miles per hour for the duration of the project.
?Just drive slowly,? Hilberg said. ?People have been, so far, very respectful to the construction workers.? The speed limit is what is posted even when construction is not going on. ?Just be careful,? Hilberg continued. ?There is huge equipment around there. The employees are watching. Safety is number one.?
Soon the inconveniences will be over. ?What I always say,? Hilberg said, ?is you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.?