By Matt Mackinder
Clarkston News Editor

Expect to see more orange road construction barrels this summer around town.
The Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC), in partnership with Independence and Orion townships, is planning to close Waldon Road, from Baldwin Road to Clintonville Road, starting next Monday, June 19, for the start of a two-year gravel-road paving and safety-improvement project that will conclude in the fall of 2024.
The work will be done in two phases.
The approximately $15 million project is paid for through federal road funding and by RCOC, Independence Township, Orion Township and Oakland County general government through the Tri-Party Program.
Construction and safety upgrades include paving the 1.75-mile unpaved section of Waldon Road with asphalt, including paved shoulders, construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Waldon and Clintonville roads (in 2024), realigning the curves along Waldon Road on the Independence Township/Orion Township border to improve safety, replacing three large culverts under the road, constructing an eight-foot-wide shared-use pathway adjacent to the road from Montclair Drive to Baldwin Road, constructing a sidewalk from Montclair Drive to the east end of the project, and stream improvements west of Clintonville Road (2024).
Phase-one construction includes removing a peat bog under the road, the replacement of two culverts and the paving of the eastern half of Waldon Road. The remaining work, including the construction of the roundabout and the remainder of the paving, will be done in 2024.
During the work, this section of Waldon Road will be closed to through traffic.
Access to homes and businesses within the construction zone will be maintained.
The road will re-open in mid-November and then close again when work resumes in early 2024.
The detour for through traffic is Baldwin Road to Maybee Road to Clintonville Road, back to Waldon Road and vice versa.