Shelby Asked to Ante Up $800,000 to Widen Hayes Road from 21 to 23 Mile

The long-awaited widening of Hayes Road from 21 to 23 Mile is scheduled to start in June, but before work can begin, Shelby Township must give final approval for the project and commit to its portion of the overall cost.

Although the project is expected to cost $8.8 million total, Shelby Township's tab is only $800,000. This is largely thanks to the project's selection as part of the Federal Aid Committee's Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP).

Of the $8.8 million cost, federal monies are due to cover $5.6 million, with the remaining $3.2 million shared by Macomb County (50 percent), Shelby Township (25 percent) and Macomb Township (25 percent).

In addition to granting final approval of the project, the Shelby Township board of trustees will also be required to authorize funding for this project in the township's 2013 budget. The board is expected to act on these issues at tonight's township meeting.

Per the project agreement with the county, Shelby and Macomb townships are required to pay their portions of the cost prior to the award of any bids for the project. Once the project is complete, any additional costs will be tallied and charged to the townships.

Work is scheduled to begin in June and wrap up in September.

Currently, Hayes Road is four lanes wide from Hall Road to 21 ½ Mile Road. At 21 ½ Mile Road, the road merges into two lanes until it reaches 23 Mile Road and returns to four. Construction will widen this section to five lanes.

See a full list of 2013 construction projects in Macomb County.