By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Some issues with a well-traveled gravel road were discussed by the Putnam Township Board Wednesday night.

The agenda item related to some possible improvements to Swarthout Road was requested by Trustee Tom Chambers. He stated that Swarthout is one of the over-used dirt roads in the township and probably should be paved as it gets a lot of traffic for a dirt road. Chambers said it’s a pretty wide road but the gravel has kind of eroded away. In areas where there are ditches, he said there’s sort of a lip to go up before you get to the ditch because the road drops down.

Chambers noted there are only ditches in some areas and also a lot of potholes. He said since Swarthout gets used so much and he drives down it a lot and there’s been a lot of discussions online on community Facebook pages, he felt it should be addressed.

Chambers commented further about recent improvements to Farley Road and how much that has helped with added limestone and ditching– saying he’s watched it through different rain events and it’s very smooth. Treasurer Pat Carney reminded during the meeting that the board agreed to do two roads this year and has already spent designated money for two years, and he felt they possibly need to wait before putting more money into roads.

One resident who commented during call to the public stated that he understood where Chambers was coming from but felt the ridge in some front yards is so water doesn’t run down their driveways and wash it out. He added that other sections that curve west of Farley Road between D-19 and Farley gets "torn up pretty bad," adding that on the east side of Farley Road, Swarthout gets tore up on a regular basis.

Supervisor Dennis Brennan said he would reach out to the Livingston County Road Commission as a first approach and determine if there are any issues, what could potentially be addressed this year - or at least get some clarification on ditching or if gravel needs to be added. A comment was also made about possibly approaching a gravel pit on the road for a potential donation.