Edit: Time changed for Dec. 6 M-24 meeting. 

There’s been a time change for the Thursday, Dec. 6 public informational meeting regarding the M-24 construction project secheduled to occur in 2020.

The meeting will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Oxford Public Library, which is located at 530 Pontiac St.

A public information meeting regarding the M-24 construction project will take place on Thursday, Dec. 6 at the Oxford Public Library from 6-8 p.m.

“This will be an open format-type meeting,” wrote David Harrison, senior project manager with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), in an Oct. 24 email sent to various local officials. “There will be some visual aids describing the project, but there will not be a formal presentation.”

The library is located at 530 Pontiac St.

Scheduled to begin and end in 2020, the M-24 project will extend from Goldengate St. in Orion Township to Harriet St. in Oxford Township and encompass the villages of Lake Orion and Oxford in between.

Harrison wrote this is the public’s opportunity to “come in and get details on the project (and) the proposed detour route, ask questions and let us know any concerns they may have.”

MDOT will conduct a rehabilitation project involving 2.759 miles of M-24 from Goldengate St. to Drahner Rd.

A mill-and-fill program will be conducted where existing pavement will be removed with a milling machine and replaced with new asphalt to extend the life of the highway. During the work, two lanes of M-24 traffic – one northbound and one southbound – will be maintained.

MDOT will also undertake the full reconstruction of 1.65 miles of M-24 in Oxford from Drahner Rd. to Harriet St., just north of the village. The existing road will be completely removed. M-24 will be taken down to the dirt, then rebuilt.

Between Drahner Rd. and Harriet St., MDOT is proposing to keep southbound traffic on M-24 flowing at all times.

Northbound traffic would be detoured east onto Drahner Rd., then take Oxford Lake Dr., Glaspie St. and N. Oxford Rd. to Ray Rd. where it would head west to reconnect with M-24.

Oxford Twp. Trustee Jack Curtis is encouraging residents and business owners alike to attend this meeting.

“They need to be aware of the monumental disruption that’s going to happen (in) downtown (Oxford) and all up M-24,” he said. “I don’t think people really understand how much of an impact it’s going to (have) . . . This thing’s bigger than most people think. You need to be there (at the meeting).”

Oxford Village Manager Joe Madore believes people, particularly M-24’s daily commuters, need to start planning how they’re going to cope with the project, so they won’t “be caught off guard when it does come.”

“I think some people that commute from Lapeer or Imlay City . . . they’re going to find a whole different route for months. They’re going to avoid this like the plague,” Madore said. “Some people will suck it up and have to go (through) there.”