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Road commission reports paving, bridge and maintenance schedule ahead of summer work
Summary
The county road commission updated commissioners on sealing, bridge repairs, garage remodels and storm response; staff said seal coating starts June 9, multiple bridge projects are planned for the season, and crews continue preventive maintenance and storm cleanup.
The Van Buren County Road Commission briefed commissioners on May 27 about planned asphalt and bridge work, facility maintenance and recent storm-response activity.
The commission reported that seal coating work will begin June 9, with a subsequent application of a final bog seal layer two to three weeks later to improve timing and reduce traffic conflicts. Staff said they have completed roadside mowing in five townships and have prioritized keeping more projects in-house to control costs. The Western Garage renovation in Bangor will start next week and membrane roof replacements are scheduled for older structures.
Multiple bridge projects approved in 2022 are slated for construction this year, including Thirteenth Avenue over Deer Lake Creek (South Haven Township), Baseline Road over Black River (South Haven Township), 405th Street over the Paw Paw River (Paw Paw Township), County Road 215 in Hamilton Township and County Road 665 over the Paw Paw River. The commission also said it performed in-house timber bridge work on a 69th Street bridge in Bangor Township to save township costs.
Staff described a recent storm that downed many trees; crews reopened several affected roads and coordinated with electric providers when power lines were involved. Commissioners were briefed on changes to the federal urban-mile calculation, which reduced Van Buren County’s urban miles and cost the county about $50,000 according to road staff; staff traced the change to the federal method switching from population to residential housing growth counts.
No formal vote was taken; the session served as an informational update and a request for commissioners to be aware of timelines and public outreach around seal-coating and bridge work.
