By Michael Piwowarski
MIDLAND – The Midland city council gave the go-ahead to fund the reconstruction of Eastman Avenue and Cambridge Street on Monday, March 16.
Eastman Avenue has been saddled with traffic congestion problems for more than a decade, most notably in between Wackerly Street and Joe Mann Boulevard, close to the Midland Mall.
The project calls for resurfacing Eastman Avenue entirely, including the construction of a dedicated southbound right turn lane for Airport Road. For a segment north of Airport Road, there will be an additional southbound thru lane added.
On Cambridge Street, the 36-inch water main needs repairs. City engineer Joshua Fredrickson stated that the pipe is being replaced completely and the road will be dug up and later resurfaced.
A total of $670,000 in additional funding is being allocated toward the 2019-2020 Major Street Fund budget for the reconstruction of a high-traffic portion of Eastman Avenue and the replacement of a water main in Cambridge Street.
The cost of renovating Eastman and Cambridge exceeded the money allocated to each project’s respective budgets. Eastman, at $1.1 million, required an additional $450,000 in funding. Cambridge, at $750,000, needed an additional $220,000. Both allocations were approved.
The council also gave the engineering department the green light to award contracts for these projects. Crawford Contracting of Mount Pleasant submitted the winning bid for both, at $1,359,505.79 for Eastman and $914,663.50 for Cambridge.
With the amendments approved, Fredrickson says that construction is expected to occur over the spring and summer, although no set date has been decided yet.
Related article: Eastman Avenue and Cambridge Street reconstruction expenditures up for discussion
