At the Hillsdale City Council meeting on April 2, the council voted 8-0 to authorize the mayor and city clerk’s signatures on a contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation, which will begin the reconstruction of State Street.
The estimated cost of the project is $753,200, and the estimated cost to the city of Hillsdale will be $378,200.
Councilor Mary Wolfram said that the council had originally been told that street reconstruction would cost about a million dollars a mile. At $753,200 for a little under a mile, that estimate is not that far off.
“We’ve been given this idea of ‘a million dollars a mile’ to fix the streets and really reconstruct them the way they need to be reconstructed,” she said. “And it’s actually fairly close to a million dollars a mile. So it really is that expensive.”
The council discussed how the city could benefit economically from the reconstruction, how the street will be rerouted, and the grant the city will receive to proceed with the project.
Although the construction is being done on local streets, councilman Brian Watkins said the project is not necessarily under the control of the city.
“On a project like this, the state handles it,” Watkins said. “We don’t have any input.”
Because of this, he said, the local companies cannot pick up the bids for the project.
Wolfram said that even though the local contractors are not necessarily doing the construction, the construction can still boost the local economy, if only minimally.
“These workers come in and use city businesses for lunch, perhaps to stay overnight,” she said. “There is still some spin-off for economic development that way.”
Director of Public Services Keith Richard said State Street will be rerouted but will still be accessible to residents.
“They will provide access to the driveways,” he said. ”There will be local traffic only.”
Although there is not a set timetable on the time of construction, Richards said it will be finished by the time school starts up again in the fall.
The city will receive a small urban grant to help pay for reconstruction costs. The city received similar grants in 2006 and 2008. In 2010, the small urban grant was discontinued for East Fayette Street, so the city kicked in the extra money to finish the part of the street between Union and Oak Streets.
