I don’t think anyone truly believed the Latson Road/I-96 interchange proposal wouldn’t move forward, but there were likely a few souls shaking as the Livingston County Road Commission spent the last few weeks considering whether the money might be better spent on local road projects.
In the end, after doing its due diligence to consider all options for its funds, the Road Commission decided to put the project to build the first full I-96 interchange between Howell and Brighton into gear.
It’s the right decision. It’s hard to imagine a project that will more immediately affect the community.
The $31 million in funding for the project, as well as most of the real estate required to build it, is in place. Fiscally, there’s no better bang for the buck. That the county’s $1.3 million will leverage $29 million to build a full freeway interchange is breathtaking. To not take advantage of such a deal would be a shame.
Here’s how it works: The county’s $1.3 million will be added to $4.7 million from a federal road-funding consortium. The rest of the money for the project will come from federal and state funds. Had the project not moved forward, the $4.7 million from the consortium would be returned.
That’s a lot of bang for a $1.3 million investment.
I live on a downtown Howell street that was reconstructed several years ago to the tune of $1 million. I can tell you that $1 million doesn’t get you much, road construction-wise, but I’d be less than truthful if I didn’t add that the work was done pre-economic collapse, when construction prices were much higher.
Still, it’s a comparison worth making.
The interchange project will be transformative: A new corridor for growth will open for whenever the economy improves, emergency vehicles will have an additional route to use when necessary, and life will be easier for school buses. Consider, too, that pressure on two of the busier traffic areas in Livingston County — the city of Howell and its historic downtown via the D-19/I-96 interchange, as well as the Grand River/I-96 interchange in Brighton — will be relieved.
It’s a big project, likely one of the largest we’ve seen in Livingston County in the past couple decades, about as long as the Latson Road project has been in the works. The Livingston County Road Commission will widen Latson Road to five lanes north of Grand River Avenue and seven lanes south; relocate Beck Road east and west of Nixon Road, and Grand Oaks Drive at Latson Road; and pave Nixon Road. Construction should take place through 2012.
In the LivingstonTalk poll, 99 votes were cast on the Latson Road/I-96 project, with 73 votes in favor of proceeding with the interchange, and 26 votes against.
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