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Macomb committee puts 2026 road improvement package on consent agenda after staff lays out projects and costs
Summary
Public works director Alice Ortman outlined a 2026 road program that includes mill-and-overlay projects and a University Drive rebuild; the committee approved placing the package on next week’s consent agenda and directed staff to proceed with design and permitting.
Alice Ortman, Macomb’s public works director, told the Committee of the Whole the city’s proposed 2026 road improvement plan targets short‑term repairs and larger rebuilds and seeks additional engineering funding to complete design work.
Ortman said the projects include mill‑and‑overlay work on West Calhoun Street and the Debbie Lane area, a concrete project on Bayberry Lane and a full rebuild of the concrete section of University Drive to hot‑mix asphalt. “We’re asking approval to increase our engineering budget for this year to an additional 120,000 to do the design for the rest of the project,” Ortman said. She told members she will return at the October council meeting to request permission to award the design contract and expects to put bids out in late December or early January to secure contractor schedules and better pricing.
The plan lists next‑year requests of $450,000 for construction services and $1,550,000 for construction; chair corrected a misstatement in the presentation and Ortman confirmed the construction estimate for University Drive is $1.50 million. Ortman also said some driveways may need apron adjustments where repeated overlays raised street grades and that larger projects (Candy Lane, Johnson Street, Adams Street) will need IDOT permitting and quality‑based selection processes to be competitive for grants such as ITEP.
Alderman Dorsett, who said the public works subcommittee reviewed the proposals, urged proceeding as recommended: “They have staged this in such a way that it makes perfect sense,” he said. Alderman Voguezzi asked which section of West Calhoun would receive mill and overlay; Ortman said work will start at Normal and proceed west toward Lemoyne.
After discussion about scope, staging and grant competitiveness, the committee voted to place the road improvement package on next week’s council consent agenda and directed the public works department to proceed with preliminary design work. The roll call vote was unanimous and the motion carried.
The item will appear on the council consent agenda next week; staff plans to return in October to seek design‑contract authorization and to follow the procurement schedule that could put bids on the street in late December or early January.
