Rochester

Main Street reconstruction project bids come in high

By Mary Beth Almond
C & G Staff Writer

ROCHESTER — Although the lowest bid for the 2012 Main Street reconstruction project came in 19 percent higher than Michigan Department of Transportation engineers projected, MDOT senior project manager Lori Swanson is confident there will be no project delay.

When MDOT comes up with project estimates, she said staff uses average unit prices — which don’t take into account the complexity of a historical downtown like Rochester — so officials were anticipating the bids coming in higher than the estimate.

“We tried to put in a little bump, but it’s hard to put a factor on the unknowns we’re going to find. There’s also of unique things about downtown Rochester that you don’t find on a typical job on Telegraph, so we thought that some of them would be a bit higher. We weren’t quite expecting what we got, but it’s not going to affect anything,” she said.

MDOT had not awarded the project at press time, but Swanson said Feb. 13 that they planned to do so soon.

“We hope to get the job awarded this week, and then we’ll have an April 1 start date,” she said.

Rochester City Manager Jaymes Vettraino said the project award is an exciting milestone in the Main Street Makeover — which the city, the Rochester Downtown Development Authority and MDOT have been working toward for over two years.

“Now that the project is official, the city and DDA looks forward to transitioning with MDOT to the construction phase,” he said. “This project represents a great opportunity for our community to significantly improve one of our most valuable assets.”

The estimated $3.3 million project — which will kick off April 1 — includes a complete reconstruction of Main Street from the Clinton River Bridge to the Paint Creek Bridge. City officials say the project will also improve water service to the area by replacing the 1890s 4-inch water main that currently runs underneath Main Street and will add streetscape improvements — such as new crossing signals, lighting, bike racks, benches, trash bins, tree plantings, signage, crosswalks, tree planters and more — to enhance the overall downtown experience.

Although Main Street will be closed throughout the construction period —from April through October — downtown Rochester and all downtown businesses will remain open. All sidewalks downtown will also remain open to provide Main Street access to the businesses and city officials said alley improvements have been made to create a pedestrian-friendly environment so customers can access the businesses from their rear entrances as well.

City staff has spent many months preparing businesses, staff and community partners for the Main Street Makeover. Now, the city and DDA plan to provide additional information to the community through a variety of meetings for downtown property owners, merchants and residents.

The property owners meeting will be held at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 21 at the Rochester Mills Beer Co., there will be a merchant forum for all the businesses in Rochester at 6 p.m. Feb. 29 at the Royal Park Hotel, and the community open house will be held from 6-8 p.m. March 8 at the Rochester Community House. Vettraino said anyone is welcome and encouraged to attend any of the meetings, which are open to the public. Project representatives are also available to give presentations for businesses and organizations. To schedule a presentation, contact Rochester DDA Director Kristi Trevarrow at (248) 656-0060.

“The city and DDA are committed to communicating every phase and facet of the project to the greater Rochester region throughout the project,” Vettraino said.

For more information on the project, visit www.Downtown RochesterMI.com or call the Rochester DDA at (248) 656-0060.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Mary Beth Almond at malmond@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1060.