Dayton Emerson, a civil engineer with the Farmington Hills City engineering department, described the recent conversion of Shady Ridge Drive from gravel to hard-surface pavement and the infrastructure work the city installed as part of the project.

Emerson said the project originated with a 2019 petition from residents asking to have the road paved. "In 2019, the residents petitioned to have this road, converted from gravel to a hard surface pavement," he said.

The city’s conversion process requires residents to obtain a petition form from the engineering department, collect signatures from neighbors and submit them for review. "We review the signatures, and, as long as there's 60% or more support, then we move forward with, you know, the process of approving the gravel road conversion," Emerson said.

Emerson said the engineering team reviewed drainage and roadway geometry before construction and completed the work during the most recent construction season. "As part of that, we kind of looked at the drainage and, kind of geometrics of the road and and built a new road this this last year," he said. Because older gravel roads often lacked drainage consideration, city staff installed underground storm sewer and catch basins in the curb line to channel water away from the pavement. "A big consideration with all of our, gravel conversion projects is the the drainage," Emerson said. "So for this project, install, underground storm sewer, and catch basins in the curb line and things like that to help, direct the water where we wanted it to go."

To improve maneuverability, the city added a cul-de-sac at the street’s end so large vehicles would not need to use private driveways to turn around. "The cul de sac at the end of this street was added to provide more room for large vehicle, traffic to turn around instead of having to use private, you know, driveways," Emerson said.

Emerson closed by thanking area residents for their patience during construction. "Just wanted to thank the residents of Shady Ridge for being patient with us while we constructed the road over the summer. I hope you guys are pleased with the finished result," he said.

Funding sources, contract amounts and the exact construction year were not specified in the transcript.