By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A paving project that had been set to begin on a busy road in Hamburg Township today has been postponed due to low temperatures and possible snow in the forecast this week.

A roughly 1.5-mile stretch of Chilson Road will be resurfaced from the intersection of Swarthout Road, north to the township line – which is just south of the railroad tracks near the Brighton State Recreation area. It’s approximately 3/8 of a mile north of Bishop Lake Road by the MDNR’s Smokey the Bear sign. The work was originally set to begin Monday morning, but according to the Livingston County Road Commission, that has been delayed due to unseasonably cold weather in the forecast this week, including the possibility of snow on Tuesday.

The Chilson Road project is part of a larger road improvement program recently approved by the township board. Once they do get the Chilson Road resurfacing is completed, Township Supervisor Pat Hohl said motorists and residents can expect a pretty extensive program for the rest of the summer with several major roads and some subdivision roads being resurfaced.

He says Swarthout Road from Pettyvsille west to the Putnam Township line, Pleasant Lake Drive near Winans Lake, Pettysville Road from M-36 to Swarthout, MacGregor Road, Darwin Road, Bishop Lake Road, and Whitewood/Shehan Road are all scheduled for blacktop improvements. Hohl added that they also have some leftover special assessment district projects from last year that will be done and include Pleasant View Drive by Whitewood and Louis Lane off Strawberry Lake Road.

Hohl said once all of that gets done, some gravel roads will be enhanced with drainage improvements and new gravel. These include Merrill Road from Strawberry Lake Road south to the Washtenaw County line, Sheldon Road, and then Van Antwerp and River Valley Road along the river north of Winans Lake Road.

There’s no firm schedule but Hohl said their objective is to get the projects done this summer, although as is always the case, the weather will dictate a lot of their schedule. It will also be up to the Livingston County Road Commission as to how the program will roll out through the summer. $1.9 (m) million is being invested by the township through a voter-approved road millage with the Road Commission contributing $1.2 (m) million. Hohl says they’ll do their very best to communicate with residents and will be posting information on the township website and social media pages.