Wayne County committee approves Allen Road grade separation funding and multiple county contracts; receives two emergency procurement reports

Wayne County commissioners on the Committee on Public Services voted to approve a contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation to advance a railroad grade-separation project on Allen Road in Woodhaven and authorized five other county contracts, while receiving and filing emergency procurement reports for two facilities repairs.

The approvals came after staff updates on funding, schedule and related utility relocations for the Allen Road underpass project and shorter briefings on pavement milling, floating-dock installations, landscaping services, and final move/cleanup work tied to county building decommissioning.

The Allen Road project drew the most attention. Alan Coe, assistant division director of engineering, said “they have provided $12 million from the earmark fund to be allocated to this project,” and described the county’s effort to secure the remaining funds. Coe said the project estimate is “a little bit more than $52,000,000” and that about $44 million is currently available when the $12 million earmark is included. He said the county is still “looking for additional funds.”

Highway engineer Sami Kaldi said the design for a related bridge had been completed and that utility relocations — involving three companies named in the meeting — must be resolved before major construction can begin. “We’re hoping the same thing. We’re pushing very, very hard with all these pipeline companies,” Kaldi said, adding the construction phase would take “about 2 years” once utility agreements are in place.

Other contract approvals included: - Amendment 4 to a two-year professional services contract (with one-year renewal options) with 10 Mile Creek Excavating for pavement milling and mill-and-fill work. Staff said the contract covers a 2-inch mill-and-fill; county staff referenced work covering about 150 lanes this year and 25 lanes next year. - An addendum to a cooperative agreement with Waters Edge Dock and Boat Hoist to install an EZ Dock floating dock and buoy system at Newberg Point in Hines Park, part of a parks project that also will replace docks at Sumac Point and Wilcox. - A three-year professional services contract (with two one-year renewal options) with United Landscape for grounds and landscaping services at several county properties, including the medical examiner’s office, jail division 3, Lincoln Hall of Justice, county headquarters and the Health Administration Building. - A comparable-source contract with Complete Quality Installation Services, Inc., doing business as Oneida Solutions Group, to complete move management, hazardous and nonhazardous waste disposal, and decommissioning work tied to the criminal justice complex relocation.

Staff also presented two emergency procurement items as receiving files. Michelle Yance, CDPS administration, told commissioners the county submitted a late emergency procurement report for engineer repair drawings after a sanitary line failure this summer at the Nanking Mills comfort station; she said the delay was caused by a countywide cyberattack that temporarily blocked access to files and procurement systems. “Nobody was able to get to their files or use our procure-to-pay system for a moment of time,” Yance said.

An additional emergency procurement reported for electrical work at the county headquarters involved a replacement main transformer and metering cabinet. Staff said DTE raised new code requirements during the procurement process that required adding a transfer switch at an additional cost of $12,000 to ensure the county would be in compliance.

The committee’s omnibus motion — moved by Commissioner Palamara and supported by Commissioner Badu — approved items 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 and received and filed items 3 and 7. The clerk recorded the motion and members voted using their tablets.

The Allen Road project’s schedule remains contingent on final agreements with utility owners; staff said they expect further updates as corporate-counsel negotiations with pipeline and utility firms progress. Other approved contracts will proceed under the terms presented to the committee.