The Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) issued a press release last week about their dust-control program and how folks living on county gravel roads can submit their applications for the service.
According to the press release, residents should check with their township to see if the township participates in the cost of dust control program. This can change from year to year, so even if residents checked with the township last year, they should check again this year.
The program involves RCOC applying mineral-well brine to gravel roads four times during the summer and fall to help control dust. The cost to participate in the program is 50.64 cents per linear foot. Residents living on subdivision streets pay for a minimum of 1,000 linear feet of application ($506.40 total for four applications).
So readers won’t have to, we checked with our local townships. Here’s what we found.
In 2021, Oxford Township paid for five chloride applications to all county dirt roads at no additional charge.
“On the March 9 Township Board meeting we have on the agenda a request for board approval for the same amount this year, five applications at no extra cost to the Township residents who live on county dirt roads,” supervisor Jack Curtis said. “Before each application the road is graded to ensure that most of the potholes and wash boarding are removed.”
According to Addison Township Supervisor Bruce Pearson, “We chloride all of our public roads in Addison Township and we just signed a contract with Road Maintenance for the service. The Road Commission started grading and filling the gravel roads last week as they did fall apart with the weather change.”
Private roads are not included in the dust-control program.
Mineral-well brine is naturally occurring saltwater that is pumped from the ground. When applied to gravel roads, the brine draws moisture from the air and ground, and the moisture helps to bind the materials in the road surface, reducing the amount of dust that becomes airborne and providing a better driving surface.
— Don Rush