Wayne County outlines township paving program, proposes 1:1 match and county engineering support

Wayne County commissioners on March 11 heard details of a proposed 2024–25 Township Initiative Paving Program that would pair county funds with township matching dollars to repair township roads, Department of Public Services Director Daio told the committee.

The program, presented during the Committee on Public Services meeting, would use $7 million the commission set aside plus a recertified $7 million carryover from the prior fiscal year to leverage township contributions, Director Daio said. "We're proposing that it will be a 1 to 1 match," he told commissioners, adding the match could effectively double the county's investment.

Why it matters: Wayne County serves nine townships and oversees roughly 1,000 lane miles of township roads, Director Daio said; about 326 of those lane miles — roughly 34% — are in poor condition. Commissioners and staff framed the program as a targeted supplement to the county's existing resurfacing and federal-aid projects intended to address residential and lower-volume township streets that are not prioritized under other programs.

Program basics and standards

Under the plan as presented, the county would: - Expect a 1:1 local match from townships, with early materials referencing a maximum of $1,000,000 per township in the first round (staff said that figure would scale if the total confirmed county funding increases). -…