The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
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Council ponders next step regarding delayed project
By Sandi Kasha, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: April 12, 2007
Dexter Village Council trustees discussed their next step Monday regarding the delayed reconstruction of the viaduct.
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Since the Washtenaw County Road Commission announced March 23 it won't be pursuing viaduct reconstruction because of a lack of funding, the Village Council is considering other options.
Trustee Paul Cousins said he isn't pleased with the Road Commission's decision not to pursue Phase 2 and wants to meet with Road Commission representatives as soon as possible.
Trustee Ray Tell said the Road Commission's intent was to deal with Phase 1, which includes the Main Street Bridge replacement and Mill Pond dam removal.
"That was their plan all along — to deal with the bridge and take the rest of the money and put it toward something else," he said.
The Road Commission was awarded $5.5 million from the Michigan Department of Transportation in 2005 and used $250,000 of the grant toward the Parker Road Bridge project, said Steve Puuri managing director of the Road Commission.
According to the Road Commission, $1.5 million of the grant will cover the bridge's replacement, dam removal, design, inspection, construction and sediment remediation.
The grant won't cover about $1 million of the project, Puuri said. He added that the Road Commission plans to contribute about $560,000 and the village is expected to pay $400,000, for which the village has paid $18,000.
Village President Jim Seta said that the Road Commission never worried about the second phase of the project and that their ultimate goal is to find funds for the Parker Road extension.
Seta added that he worries that the townships' interest in further discussion regarding the bypass will deter any efforts toward reconstructing the viaduct.
"We are now divided," he said. "We believe in the viaduct and they believe in the Parker Road extension."
Both Dexter and Lima townships adopted a resolution favoring further discussion with the Road Commission and other municipalities regarding the bypass, also known as the Parker Road extension.
But the bypass revival has been a point of contention in the municipalities since its introduction by the Road Commission about a decade ago.
The approximately mile-long, two-lane bypass would extend Parker Road north and west, connecting it to Dexter-Pinckney Road by cutting behind Gordon Hall.
The Road Commission's intention is to alleviate traffic congestion by directing vehicles on an alternate route besides Main Street, facilitating access to Interstate 94 without going through downtown Dexter.
But the second phase's required $1.6 million contribution makes Seta nervous.
"I don't feel comfortable spending taypayer money that will go toward reconstructing a viaduct that isn't village property," he said.
The viaduct is located in Scio Township.
"We're beating a dead horse here regarding Phase 2," said Trustee Jim Carson. "Even if we attempted to finance their (Road Commission) shortfall, they still don't want to do Phase 2."
Carson favors the project, which centers on a walkway that would connect Westridge to the village rather than attempting to reason with the Road Commission.
Dexter Village secured up to $2.8 million in bonds to make public improvements this past fall. The walkway was one of the five public improvement projects the village considered important.
Cousins still wants to meet with the Road Commission to look into other options the village would have regarding the viaduct.
"What you're talking about is forcing the Road Commission to do something they don't want to do," Carson said. "They don't want to do it (viaduct). So let them do the bridge and remove the dam."
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