By Tony Wittkowski | Business Reporter | The Herald-Palladium
STEVENSVILLE — Much to the delight of Lincoln Township residents, Marquette Woods Road is now fully open.
After westbound traffic for Marquette Woods Road was closed Sept. 8, the Berrien County Road Commission began resurfacing the road and widening it out.
It was there crews improved the drainage along the road from Roosevelt Road to St. Joseph Avenue and added more than 6,000 feet in sidewalks – about 3,000 feet on either side.
Kevin Eyerly, Road Commission engineering technician, said the original completion date was set for Friday, but they were able to finish ahead of schedule.
“There’s a lot of people already using the sidewalks,” Eyerly said. “They wanted to walk on them before they were even finished. We appreciate everyone’s patience. I’m sure they’re happy to see us get this thing open.”
Eyerly said the intent for laying down sidewalk was to allow residents to walk to the Meijer in Stevensville, using major crosswalks safely.
County Highway Engineer Brian Berndt said the project’s construction costs were $600,000.
Eighty percent of project costs were federally funded. The township paid the other 20 percent.
Supervisor Dick Stauffer said the township’s share was not as high as the anticipated 20 percent cut because Meijer contributed $25,000.
“(Meijer) realized it would help their employees and residents to get to their store more safely,” Stauffer said. “The project is a wonderful enhancement to our township.”
Stauffer said the Marquette Woods Road project has been part of the township’s master plan for the last seven or eight years. He said that amount of time is needed when trying to secure a federal grant.
Marquette Woods Road’s traffic volume is about 6,000 cars a day, Eyerly said. Taylor Construction of Sodus was the prime contractor.
Contact Tony Wittkowski at twittkowski@TheHP.com or (269) 932-0358. Follow him on Twitter: @tonywittkowski.
(Author’s Note: This article was originally published on Nov. 12, 2015)
Tony Wittkowski 