Eaton County Road Commission

Local Road Millage Program 2015-2026

Policy No. 2014-01 – Local Road Millage Program Project Selection Guidelines

Beginning in 2015, a county-wide millage will fund the restoration and rehabilitation of county local roads. The twelve-year program will rehabilitate and resurface over 261 miles of paved local roads currently rated as fair or poor and rehabilitate and regravel all 500 miles of existing gravel surfaced local roads. Additionally, the program provides for two applications of chloride dust control each year on all gravel surfaced local roads.

It is important to note what millage proceeds may NOT be used for:

  • Millage proceeds will not be used to build new roads.
  • Millage proceeds will not be used to repair/rehabilitate/maintain county primary roads.
  • Millage proceeds will not be used for routine maintenance such as snowplowing, scraping gravel roads, patching potholes, mowing, signs, etc.
  • Millage proceeds will not be used to purchase new Road Commission trucks, equipment or buildings.
  • Millage proceeds will not be used to repair or replace bridges, large county drain structures or large culverts.

Project Planning

Each year’s Millage Program will be designed to accomplish approximately 1/12th of the overall program in each township. Adjustments to the extent of each year’s program shall be made as necessary to meet budget requirements. Proposed projects will be reviewed and approved as a preliminary list by the Board of Eaton County Road Commissioners during the month of December each year. Information regarding the approved preliminary projects will then be provided to each township for review and comment. This information will also be posted on the Road Commission’s website.

The Board of Road Commissioners will review and consider comments regarding the preliminary project selections through February 15th of each year, and may add, delete or modify projects. The Board will approve its final project selections before March 1st of each year.

Project Selection Guidelines

Paved Local Roads

Road segments included in the program each year will initially be prioritized by lowest PASER rating on local roads in each township separately, and within that listing further prioritized by the following criteria:

  1. PASER road segments considered for projects shall be shortened, lengthened, or combined as necessary to be made continuous from intersection to intersection, and may include shorter segments with a higher PASER rating when necessary to achieve continuity.
  2. Projects on road segments using similar type work will be grouped together as much as possible in combination with other criteria.
  3. Road segments in a recognizable neighborhood, subdivision, or locale should be grouped or combined and completed at the same time. Grouped segments may include shorter segments with a higher PASER rating when this is necessary to complete an entire neighborhood or subdivision, or as may be needed to avoid creating short or isolated segments with different pavement condition ratings.
  4. Projects may be advanced in timing or delayed to subsequent years as needed to:
    1. Coordinate with planned utility or other construction work affecting those segments by other agencies such as the Drain Commission, township or city sewer and water departments and other public utilities, significant private development, and construction on adjacent Primary roads or state highways.
    2. Meet annual budgetary constraints.

Gravel Surfaced Local Roads

Projects will initially be prioritized by the age of the existing surface material on each road segment in each township separately, and within that listing further prioritized by the following criteria:

  1. Safety
  2. Road segments with higher existing or expected traffic volumes will be given a higher priority
  3. Road Segments with low traffic volumes and/or dead end segments will be given lower priority
  4. Road segments considered for projects shall be shortened, lengthened, or combined as necessary to be made continuous from intersection to intersection
  5. Road segments that are a continuation of prior years’ projects and/or that will complete a continuous route between paved cross roads will be given higher priority
  6. Projects may be advanced in timing or delayed to subsequent years as needed to:
    1. Coordinate with planned utility or other construction work affecting those segments by other agencies such as the Drain Commission, township or city sewer and water departments and other public utilities, planned major private development, and construction on adjacent Primary roads or state highways
    2. Meet annual budgetary constraints

 

Chloride Dust Control

The Road Commission will provide two applications of chloride dust control on all gravel surfaced roads each year during the millage period. Dust control application shall be made continuous from intersection to intersection and not applied as a spot treatment. Application will be made as weather permits in late spring and mid- to late summer.