Rochester Hills

Hamlin Road to be widened

By Linda Shepard
C & G Staff Writer

ROCHESTER HILLS — A three-lane widening project for Hamlin Road between Hamlin Court and Dequindre Road will include resurfacing.

The $1.7 million project is currently in the design and engineering stage and is slated for construction in 2015.

A portion of Hamlin is currently a gravel road.

“There are five homes that live along this stretch right now,” said Paul Davis, Rochester Hills city engineer. “There is high traffic from adjacent areas.”

“It is a highly traveled gravel road that we have in the city,” Rochester Hills City Council President Greg Hooper said, citing traffic counts of 1,850 automobile trips a day. “Those 1,850 trips a day (on the road) are not from five homes.”

A portion of Hamlin that will be widened between Rochester Road and Livernois Road includes an area in front of Hamlin Elementary School.

“This is one of the worst areas in the city for passing on the right,” said City Council member Mark Tisdale. “It is a problem. It has the most tickets and greatest number of complaints in the city for passing on the right, particularly around the school.”

Rochester Hills Department of Public Services Director Allan Schneck said the Hamlin Road design process would incorporate traffic and crash statistics. “You look at traffic counts, you look at turning movements and you try to employ mitigation strategies,” he said. “That will be part of this design — to review the corridor.”

By a unanimous vote March 4, the Rochester Hills City Council approved a proposal for engineering design services from Orchard, Hiltz and McCliment, Inc. for $414,000.

“A couple of transportation plans back (Hamlin’s widening) was for four lanes.” Council member James Rosen said. “There was an uproar and people finally said what we want is three lanes.”

Hamlin Road widening project design development is slated for this year with easement acquisitions for pathway construction and temporary grading in 2014 and construction of the road, water main and pathway improvements in 2015.

Rochester Hills was awarded $1,769,000.00 in federal funding for the Hamlin Road project through the Oakland County Federal Aid Task Force Committee. The project will be constructed in two phases.

The first phase widens Hamlin between Hamlin Court and Rochester Road and proposes to widen the existing road to a three-lane roadway. The replacement of an existing 16-inch water main is also included.

The second phase rehabilitates the existing road on Hamlin between Rochester and Dequindre roads using patching, milling and overlay.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Linda Shepard at lshepard@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1065.