The Laketown Township board on Wednesday, March 8, approved $594,155 to repave almost four miles of roads in the township this year.
The board unanimously accepted the $594,155 road surfacing bid from Michigan Paving & Materials Co. The bid was lowest of four submitted to the Allegan County Road Commission for the work:
$716,000 from Superior Asphalt Inc.;
$662,588 from Rieth-Riley Construction Co. Inc.;
$623,691 from Black Gold Transport Inc.
The township budgeted $600,000 for the work, according to township Manager Al Meshkin.
The roads
Road repaving projects for 2023 are:
2.59 miles of 62nd Street, 136th Avenue north to end at the expressway;
0.78 mile of 63rd Street, Blue Star Highway to 138th Avenue;
0.54 mile if Valleywood Court, Scenic Shores Drive and Sailview Drive south of 147th Avenue.
Not chip sealing
The work does not involve any chip sealing, also called seal coating, a process that combines water and liquid asphalt with a slag stone cover to extend the life of the pavement.
The road commission used that coating on some roads, including 140th Avenue, last summer. The township was not informed about the application. Many residents complained about the mess and damage to their vehicles from the stones.
The township has no control over where or when the road commission uses that process, according to Meshkin.
Dust control
In February, the board unanimously authorized the Allegan County Road Commission to apply dust control this year to a total of about one mile of unpaved roads in the township for an estimated cost around $1,000.
There are segments of three roads – 61st Street north of 138th Avenue, 62nd Street south of 142nd Avenue, 65th Street south of Island Lake Road – that aren’t paved.