GOODLAND TWP. — The township is hoping federal dollars can help them rehabilitate Shaw Road.
With assistance from the Lapeer County Road Commission, the township has applied to receive grant funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Public Works Program.
Supervisor Ron Cischke said they were made aware of the program in 2020 as part of the government’s pandemic relief programming. They applied for two projects—Shaw Road and a portion of Bowers Rd.—and Cischke said Shaw Road, between M-53 and Brown City Rd, qualified for the program.
“We’ve been doing the paperwork for about two years now,” Cischke said, “and if we’re successful we can receive about $1.5 million to do two miles of work.”
Shaw Road qualifies for the federal program because of the businesses located on it, including a sod farm, produce growers and a pallet company. Cischke said the township was required, as part of the grant application, to have those businesses endorse the application. In a legal notice, the work is described as “to increase the capacity of Shaw Road and provide a safe and efficient road for transportation of goods including agricultural commodities and vegetables to market.
“The road is in bad shape and we don’t have that kind of money to make it happen,” Cischke said of the million-plus price tag.
The work will include adding a turn lane, widening the lanes and rehabilitating the road’s surface.
If awarded and accepted by the township, Goodland would need to provide a 20 percent match of approximately $335,837.
Cischke said the township is grateful to Destain Gingell, the road commission’s county highway engineer, for his assistance with the grant.
“Our team effort has made this a good project,” Gingell said.
The grant award decision will be announced later this year and Gingell said that if successful the project would be undertaken in 2023.
