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Orion Township requests $3M (50%) to pave busy East Clarkston gravel connector used by 4,000 vehicles per day
Summary
Orion Township and Rep. Steele asked the subcommittee for $3 million toward a $6 million project to pave under‑built East Clarkston Road, a gravel connector carrying about 4,000 vehicles daily. Officials cited safety, watershed protection and lack of local frontage for special assessments.
Representative Steele and Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett presented a $3,000,000 request to the subcommittee on June 11 as a 50% match for a $6,000,000 project to pave less than one mile of East Clarkston Road, a gravel east‑west connector that supervisors said currently carries about 4,000 vehicles per day.
Barnett and Rep. Steele said the road exceeds national standards for gravel use, has grade and drainage problems, and that continuous grading has created unsafe edges and sediment runoff into Paint Creek — one of the remaining natural cold‑water trout streams in Southeast Michigan. Barnett said Oakland County’s current funding converts only about 1–2 miles of gravel per year and that the project is not eligible for federal aid because it is classified as a sublocal road without sufficient built standards.
Nut graf: Presenters argued paving the corridor would improve safety, reduce maintenance and protect an ecologically sensitive watershed; they said special assessments are impractical because few houses front the road and the cut‑through traffic mostly benefits non‑local drivers.
Barnett said total cost to pave in Oakland County is high (plaintiff numbers cited: ~$5.5M per mile all‑in) because of stormwater, acquisition and right‑of‑way work; the township and county would provide the local match and reallocate existing funds where feasible.
Ending: The presenters noted an awarded $1M FEMA grant for related stormwater work and said the $6M project would include rain gardens and pretreatment features to limit sediment reaching Paint Creek; the subcommittee requested details on local match and timeline.
