Local officials, business owners and residents will no doubt breathe a collective sigh of relief following the completion of next year’s M-24 construction project, stretching from Goldengate St. in Orion Township to Gateway Dr. in Oxford Township.

But, that intense feeling of joy could be short-lived because there’s more road work on the horizon.

On Sept. 23, Oxford Fire Chief Pete Scholz and Oxford Township Engineer Jim Sharpe attended a plan review meeting hosted by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).

The subject of this meeting was the next major M-24 project, which will stretch from Gateway Dr. to Davison Lake Rd. in Oxford Township and encompass both the northbound and southbound lanes.

“Their plans are pretty well-developed. They’ve been in the works for a little while. But this is the first time that MDOT reached out to the township for (its) input,” Sharpe said.

“They’ve done a whole lot of work (on the plans),” said Scholz, who added “supposedly (this project) has been in the works since 2014.”

Scholz said right now, the project has a target date of 2025, but it could happen earlier depending on when funding for it becomes available, so MDOT wants to have the plan sitting on the shelf, ready to go.

“I believe it’s going to (occur) probably within the next two years. I don’t think it will go all the way up to 2025 by any means,” the chief said, offering his opinion.

With an estimated cost of $18 million, the project involves a variety of repairs and upgrades to M-24.

“The entire stretch” between Gateway Dr. and Davison Lake Rd. will be milled and resurfaced with a hot mix asphalt (HMA) overlay, Scholz said.

“They were talking (removing) a minimum of 2½ inches,” he said.

Any cracked or broken pieces of concrete beneath the existing asphalt surface will be removed and replaced, according to Scholz.

Existing median crossovers at Metamora, Oakwood, Thomas and Davison Lake roads will be removed. Currently, these openings in the median allow traffic to go straight across M-24 and continue heading east or west along these roads.

Once the four crossovers are closed, vehicles will be required to make Michigan Lefts to travel between the east and west sides of these roads. Basically, vehicles will have to turn right onto M-24, make a U-turn at a median crossover, then turn right again to continue heading east or west on these roads.

According to Scholz, these four crossovers are going to be removed because they are safety hazards. Drivers think they can just “zip across” M-24 and they end up getting broadsided by oncoming traffic, he explained.

“There are accidents at Metamora. There are accidents at Oakwood,” Scholz said. “I think (closing them is) a good way to go.”

Sharpe noted MDOT was originally considering closing the crossover at Ray Rd. that allows westbound traffic to cross the northbound lanes of M-24, then turn left and head south. Now, that’s off the table and the crossover will “remain as is,” he said.

Between the many gravel trucks exiting American Aggregates Ray Rd. plant on a daily basis and all of the school buses that use that crossover after leaving Oxford High School, Sharpe said eliminating that opening “would not work.”

Between Gateway Dr. and Ray Rd., Sharpe said, “Every turnaround (in the median) is going to be redone.”

He explained the existing turnarounds are either going to be torn out and rebuilt in the same location or “moved a little bit north or south.”

The township has asked MDOT to add a few things to its plans.

According to Sharpe, the township wants a safety path added to the east side of M-24 along the property that contains Chase Bank, Meijer and Meijer’s gas station.

“None of that has pathway right now,” he said.

Sharpe requested a new turnaround be added south of the Market St./M-24 intersection so as to allow northbound traffic to turn left and head south without having to go through that signalized intersection twice. Should the proposed 117-bed Beaumont Hospital be constructed on the east side of M-24 in that area (see related story), this new turnaround would benefit traffic exiting the facility, the engineer explained.

A request was also made to add a right-turn lane to southbound M-24 at the entrance (W. Market St.) to the Waterstone development. Sharpe said traffic currently uses the shoulder there as an unofficial turning lane, but that’s not what it was designed for.

The 2025 project will also involve guardrail, drainage and culvert improvements, replacing – and in some cases, upgrading – driveways along M-24 and adding truck loons.

“Every turnaround will have a truck loon,” Sharpe said.

Truck loons are paved areas constructed outside of normal traffic lanes. They allow large vehicles, like semi-trucks, to safely make U-turns on divided highways like M-24.