Westland, MI -
One of Westland's historically troubled motorist spots will undergo road construction and traffic signal work starting in July. Cherry Hill Road, west of Newburgh has come in top 10 for high crash intersections in the state.
On Monday, November 4th the Westland City Council approved a contract between the City of Westland and the Michigan Department of Transportation for road reconstruction and traffic signal work. Capital for this project will come from federal funding, the City of Westland and Wayne County.
According to a crash analysis of the site, with data obtained from the Traffic Improvement Association (TIA), there have been 113 crashes in 36 months at the intersection, making the critical crash rate double that of crashes in the state of Michigan.
"The safety of our citizens and visitors has always been a top priority for my Administration. When I hear that there have been 27 crashes in 2013, and 40 in 2012 at this location alone, I know that we need to come up with a solution immediately," said Mayor Wild.
Construction on the intersection is slated to start in early July of 2014, and is expected to be completed by mid-October, 2014. Private utility relocation will begin before the road project, starting this spring.
"The partnership with MDOT has given us the opportunity to address this problem with an emphasis on best practices for drivers safety, while allowing us to move forward without delay," added the Mayor. "The new design will improve traffic flow and make the intersection safer."
The upcoming project will not only consist of the reconstruction of the intersection of Cherry Hill and Newburgh Road, but the west side of Cherry Hill will also be widened from four to five lanes, and there will be an area at the west end of the project which transitions the road from the newly built five-lane road to the existing two-lane road. Other features of the project include, a new traffic signal installation at the intersection, drainage improvements and sidewalk enhancements.
The estimated cost of the project is $1,163,000. The State, through federal funding, has approved to pay 81.85% of the total costs of construction, or $952,000. The City and Wayne County have agreed to split the remaining $211,000 of the project, with a total cost to the City at $105,500. The project was bid in November, 2013 with Florence Cement Company performing the work.
There is also a separate project on Newburgh Road from Palmer to Cherry Hill that is scheduled to commence next month (May of 2014) and should be completed by early July of 2014. The two projects are being coordinated to provide the least impact on traffic and motorists
