Flint, MI – Some of Flint’s most damaged streets will be repaved in spring 2023, per a contract approved by the Flint City Council this week.
At its Nov. 28 meeting, Council granted $971,190 to Ace-Saginaw Paving Company to complete a little over 59,500 square yards of streets.
The project will span Welch Boulevard from Ballenger Highway to Chevrolet Avenue, Dupont Street from Pasadena Avenue to Copeman Boulevard, and Fleming Road from Pierson to Pasadena.
Flint Director of Transportation Rod McGaha told Council he thinks the three roadways show the greatest state of disrepair in the city.
“I’m just trying to make these roads safe. Some of them are three-lane roads, and there’s an accident just waiting to happen. So, I’m trying to put a Band-Aid on those streets,” McGaha said.
McGaha added that the city’s Department of Public Works gets calls about these areas “all the time,” particularly the stretch of Welch Boulevard included in the project. He said the complaints are largely about the potholes.
The paving company proposed to mill one-and-a-half inch of asphalt surface, furnish and install a bond coat, and pave another one-and-a-half inch of hot mix asphalt. Side approaches for these streets are not included in the contract.
Department of Public Works Director Michael Brown said that these projects will make the streets “a much gentler ride on cars for a period of time,” but they would not be comprehensive.
“We are not planning on doing everything, because we are just doing asphalt and re-milling, so we’re just taking down the surfaces enough to go down and repair,” Brown said.
McGaha said the project will make these streets safer for approximately 7-10 years before they need to be repaved again.
Although councilmembers generally had positive comments about this project, several noted that there still was more that needed to be done on the proposed streets.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you for getting Welch Boulevard on this list here, but I was thinking you were going to the whole Welch Boulevard from Ballenger all the way to King ,” Councilwoman Jerri Winfrey-Carter said, referring to Martin Luther King Aveneue. “When are we going to get to that part as well?”
McGaha responded they will “hopefully” pave the portion of Welch Boulevard from Chevrolet to Martin Luther King avenues next year, which would be roughly an additional mile of work.
Councilman Quincy Murphy asked if there were infrastructure issues that could be addressed during the repaving project so the streets would not have to be torn up again in the future.
“That’s something I can look into, but it wasn’t on this proposal,” McGaha said. He also noted that he plans to return to Council next year to propose work on another three major streets.