Traverse City's streets department demonstrated a pilot in-house mill-and-pave operation on Fourteenth Street and the city commission on Aug. 18 authorized a purchase order of up to $100,000 to buy asphalt from Elmer's to extend the work. The pilot crew milled roughly 650 feet by 12 feet of eastbound travel lane, removed about 2 inches of surface asphalt and replaced it with new material; staff said the operation took under an hour for the milling portion and the entire repave work for that stretch cost about $17,000 in city labor and materials, substantially below outside contractor estimates.

Deputy public services staff and street superintendent Chris Webber told the commission the demonstration was arranged with a vendor that supplied a ride-on milling machine and the crew used existing city equipment to clean and repave. Webber said the approach could extend the service life of the roadway for several years before the federally funded MPO reconstruction planned for 2028, and estimated the full stretch could be completed in approximately three to four weeks if weather and scheduling allow.

Commissioners asked about traffic management and safety. Staff said the plan is to work one block and one direction at a time to maintain traffic in the opposite direction and minimize detours; intersections such as Veterans Drive would be excluded to reduce disruption. City staff also noted availability of in-house skilled labor and the potential to save on contractor mobilization fees. The motion to authorize the interim city manager to issue a purchase order to Elmer's for asphalt not to exceed $100,000 passed unanimously. Streets staff said materials and scope estimates include contingency for trucking and compaction equipment where required, and they will provide maps and estimates to the commission and public as the schedule firmed up.