“Proceed as planned” was the opinion given to Independence Township after Supervisor Pat Kittle asked engineering firm Carlisle Wortman about the I-75 and Sashabaw Road improvement project.
Even without a new hospital, construction in the area will include $4 million in improvements to the Sashabaw and Waldon Road intersection and the I-75 interchange.
Work will include new lanes, traffic light at the park-and-ride south of a newly rebuilt gas station, new ramp to southbound Sashabaw Road from northbound I-75, and dedicated lanes for emergency vehicles.
About $500,000 has already been invested by the township, and all necessary approvals as well as necessary easements for construction have been obtained.
According to Dick Carlisle, while McLaren is a key component to the economic success of the corridor, there are currently 122 existing businesses in the corridor along with 190 acres excluding McLaren of vacant developable land and the road project will be of benefit to not only the corridor, but the Township as a whole.
Carlisle added the I-75 interchange as well as the Sashabaw and Waldon improvements has been needed for many years. The addition of the new ramp to southbound Sashabaw will provide much-needed relief to the congestion which now occurs due to DTE Theater.
In addition funding from Road Commission for Oakland County, State of Michigan, McLaren and the CIA have already been secured and may not be available in the future.