By Sara L. Smith
VIEW Staff Writer

GRAND BLANC TWP. — Despite some resident complaints to the contrary, a road construction project in the Williamsburg Farms subdivision will soon come to end.

That’s the word from officials with the Genesee County Road Commission.

Roadwork in the subdivision is scheduled to wrap by the end of next month, as long as the weather continues to hold out and no foreseeable acts of God take place, said John Daly, manager and director of the Genesee County Road Commission.

“The weather is really the only possible factor,” he said. “At this point, unless the weather or anything unusual occurs, we’re programmed to finish by Oct. 30.”

Road commission crews have been working diligently to get the roadwork done on time, seeing only a minor delay following the recent onslaught of rains that took place two weeks ago, Daly said. “The rains created a significant impact on road projects.”

The project has remained pretty much on schedule, with the rain delay only pushing the project back a few days at most, he said. Construction of the subdivision’s roads has also been slightly complicated due to the neighborhood’s vast size, along with the rather poor condition of the roads prior to beginning the work.

“Until we get out to do a road construction project, we really don’t know what’s underneath the road surface,” he noted. “The roads were in need of construction.”

While some Williamsburg Farms residents have expressed concern that the project didn’t appear to be on schedule and worried that the roadwork may be delayed beyond the current road construction season at a township board meeting Sept. 11, Daly said that residents may be frustrated because they’ve been waiting for the work to be done for several months, hoping to see the end in sight.

Those residents voiced concerns that the projects wouldn’t wrap up on time, saying that a large amount of work is still required before the road construction is finished. A light at the end of the tunnel is near, Daly said.

“Residents tend to get concerned with ongoing projects when we start seeing a transition of the seasons,” he said. “They have legitimate concerns and they want to see these projects finished and know when they’re going to get done.”

The project’s original timeline has always been in the ballpark of late October, Daly said.

Should significant rain delays or any other major snafus occur, the project could extend until November, but that isn’t likely, he added. Due to weather forecasts provided to the GCRC, some county-wide road projects likely will be extended through mid-November. Similar roadwork throughout the county continued through late November last year.

The project is a joint partnership between the township, the residents of Williamsburg Farms and the GCRC. The plan called for a milling and repaving of the subdivision’s main roads and streets.

Roadwork was divided into three phases, with Phase I completed last year. The project costs an estimated $3.3 million for the two later phases, with $1.5 million earmarked for Phase II and $1.8 million designated for Phase III.

The partnership required a monetary contribution from each of the three partners. Residents were required to kick in $822,000 for Phase II, with the township’s share amounting to $274,000 and the GCRC’s contribution adding up to $219,000. Residents are contributing $1.1 million toward the completion of Phase III, while the township is paying $381,000 and the road commission contributes $304,000.

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