Proving the old adage, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease,” Oxford Township officials agreed to dip into their budget and pay 100 percent of the cost to spray calcium chloride brine on all of the community’s public gravel roads beginning Jan. 1, 2020.

All seven township board members voted in favor of doing this during last week’s regular meeting. Oxford would contract with the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) to do the work.

The decision came in response to eight residents, living along Coats and Sanders roads, who made the request during the public comment portion of the board’s April 10 meeting.

These residents expressed their fear that having large clouds of dust hovering over gravel roads that have not been treated with calcium chloride poses a danger to pedestrians, particularly children getting on and off school buses, because such conditions can easily obscure the vision of drivers.

Applying calcium chloride is known to reduce the amount of dust that’s disbursed into the air when vehicles drive over gravel roads.

The residents also expressed concerns over how rough road conditions are causing excessive wear and tear on not only private vehicles, but public ones, such as school buses, fire trucks and police cars.

Treating gravel roads with calcium chloride helps stabilize the roadway by keeping in place the material that binds the stones together, which minimizes surface deterioration.

Based on the RCOC’s 2019 prices, it should cost the township at least $49,053 to have Oxford’s 181,676 feet, or 34.41 miles, of local gravel roads and gravel subdivision streets treated with chloride four times next year.

That’s approximately $25,000 more than the township has been paying to chloride only those gravel roads where residents have agreed to pay 50 percent of the cost.

“I think we can scrounge up another $25,000,” said township Supervisor Bill Dunn.

Dunn noted the township boards since 1999 have been “so good at watching their money” that “we always have a little extra” in the bank at the end of each year.

Oxford’s four neighboring townships – Addison, Brandon, Orion and Metamora – pay 100 percent of the cost to chloride all of their gravel roads.

Given “the other townships are doing it,” Dunn didn’t have a problem with Oxford picking up the whole tab as well.

His fellow officials agreed.

“I don’t live on a dirt road, but I drive the dirt roads. I’d really like to see them chlorided myself,” said Trustee Margaret Payne.

“All the research I’ve done (says that) chloriding supposedly extends the life of the road,” said Treasurer Joe Ferrari.