Gallagher Road, from Silverbell Road to Cider Hill Drive, could soon be paved.
By: Mary Beth Almond | Rochester Post | Published March 24, 2026
OAKLAND TOWNSHIP — The Road Commission for Oakland County and Oakland Township are holding a public information and feedback session on the potential paving of Gallagher and Silverbell roads.
The open-house meeting — planned for 5-8 p.m. April 2 at Township Hall, 4393 Collins Road — will not include a formal presentation, but Road Commission staff will be available to answer questions.
Oakland Township Board of Trustees Treasurer John Giannangeli said the board has been working with the Road Commission for many years trying to find out the best practice to maintain its many gravel roads, which become riddled with potholes in inclement weather.
“We understand that is one of our biggest issues that our residents have. But in many cases, what it almost always comes back to is that almost all our roads have 1,500 cars a day going through them. Even when we say we are going to try to pave some of these, lots of times it’s 50-50 — some residents want it and some don’t,” said Giannangeli. “This board is trying to do the best we can in trying to maintain the road system that we have.”
Jeff O’Brien, a design engineer for the Road Commission, said the commission recently completed a “high-level” scoping study of the proposed project — which would involve paving 3,400 feet of Silverbell Road, from the end of the existing paving at Abbey Road to east of Great Fosters Drive, and 4,200 feet of Gallagher Road, from Silverbell Road to Cider Hill Drive, with asphalt resurfacing extended to Orion Road to complete the corridor.
The study envisions one 12-foot lane in each direction on the newly paved road segments and the installation of curbs and gutters along each side of the roadways with storm-water control, for a total width of about 29.5 feet from curb to curb.
“The exception to that is at Silverball and Gallagher, where there is a center left turn lane proposed on Silverbell for those left turners,” O’Brien said. “Essentially, the eastbound left turn onto Gallagher would get a center left turn lane to get them out of the through movement, which is a standard tee intersection we would construct anywhere in the county.”
The project, according to officials, would require some right-of-way acquisition from adjacent property and would impact existing pathways, municipal utilities and vegetation.
“In some locations along the routes of both Silverbell and Gallagher we’ve had to shift the existing roadway. From Gallagher to the west, the existing center line of Silverbell would shift to the left, up to 10 feet in certain locations, in order to provide access to adjacent properties and to minimize impacts to developed properties,” O’Brien said. “The center line of Gallagher from the north south portion would shift to the west up to approximately 20 feet to allow for access to the properties along the east side. As we go around the curves, there’s a portion east of Goodison Place that could shift upwards of up to 40 feet to the north. There’s some reverse curves in there, so in order to straighten the road out to some degree and meet an acceptable design speed, the center line of the road needs to move.”
The project, he added, would complete the existing safety path on the west side of Gallagher Road, east of Goodison, where there is currently 312 linear feet of path missing.
The overall project is estimated to cost around $13.2 million, including preliminary engineering, right-of-way acquisition, construction engineering and physical construction costs. It would be paid for with a combination of around $8.1 million in federal funds, along with contributions from the Road Commission and Oakland Township, according to officials.
In order for it to move forward, the Oakland Township Board of Trustees would have to approve the project before May. If approved, the project could start between 2028 and 2030.
For more information, contact the Road Commission Engineering Department at (248) 645-2000.