Crooks Road to be Reconstructed 14 Mile to Equity Drive

The Road Commission of Oakland County is scheduled to begin a construction project on about three-quarters of a mile of Crooks Road in mid-May between 14 Mile Road and Equity Drive in Clawson, Royal Oak and Troy.

The four-lane road will be widened to five lanes, with the additional lane serving as a dedicated left-turn lane.

The project is expected to be completed by Oct. 14 and will cost approximately $3.4 million. Of that amount, approximately $2.8 million will be covered by federal earmark funds. The Road Commission, Southeastern Oakland County Water Authority (SOCWA) and the city of Clawson will kick in the remaining costs.

The project also includes the reconstruction of a 20-inch water main between 14 Mile and Elmwood Avenue.

An open house was held Thursday evening at the Oakland Schools’ Southeast Technical Campus in Royal Oak allowing residents to gather information and question members of the Road Commission. In attendance were Thomas A. Peeler, squad leader for the engineering department, Jeff O’Brien, a design engineer, and Mike Torres, a construction engineer. Residents were able to view charts, surveys and aerial maps.

“The purpose of the project is to rebuild the existing four lanes to five lanes, with two lanes in each direction like it has, but with the addition of a center left-turn lane,” O’Brien said. “It will be concrete pavement and Dan’s Excavating (of Shelby Township) is the contractor (low bidder).

"The construction will happen in two phases. We will push traffic to the east side of the road, construct the west half (the southbound two lanes), and once that’s complete, put traffic back onto the new pavement and build the remaining three lanes in stage two.”

O’Brien said access to homes and apartment buildings in the area will be maintained, with the greatest impact being a prohibition on left turns onto 14 Mile from Crooks, in either direction.

“The primary purpose behind (the project) is to seek improvements … to safety,” O’Brien said. “Four-lane facilities typically have a high incidence of rear-end-type accidents because folks turning left stop in a through lane. Folks behind them don’t expect them to stop, so there’s a higher propensity for accidents. This project will improve safety.”

In addition to the left-turn lane, the project will rehabilitate the pavement along the stretch of road, which is expected to extend the useful life of the road by more than 20 years. The traffic signals at the Crooks intersection with Meijer Drive and Elmwood Avenue will be upgraded, and pedestrian crosswalks will be upgraded to meet current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.

Water service will be affected “in a minor fashion,” Torres said. “What they’re going to be doing is constructing the new pipe; there are three connection points (for the pipe),” Torres said. “At the last, when the pipe has been constructed and tested … then they will shut down water service temporarily, like an overnight type thing, and make the connection, one point at a time.”

There will be traffic congestion during the project’s duration. “There will be some delays, as with any construction project, unfortunately, but that’s part of construction,” O’Brien said. “Right now, there are two lanes in each direction. During construction, it will be one lane in each direction, so there will be additional congestion.”

Some residents at the meeting voiced concerns about the traffic congestion, the preservation of trees near the construction area (especially in front yards), noise, dust and the ability to turn out of side streets.

(My biggest concern is) "the dust, the mess, the confusion, not being able to get out of the street, and the people, the strangers in the neoghborhood," said Magdaline Zavatsky, a Royal Oak resident who lives near the construction site. "The last time we went through this, there’s a lot more noise, I can’t keep my windows open when I’m on the telephone because of the traffic."

Torres said there is no way to mitigate the dust and noise during construction.

Additionally, some side streets may be closed if alternate access is available.

“We’re hoping we get a smooth project, and right now, everything is on schedule,” Peeler said. “Complaints and questions can be sent online at the Road Commission website (www.rcocweb.org), and it will be sent to the proper channels so those things can be addressed.”

Citizens may also call the Road Commission’s Department of Customer Services at 877-858-4804.