October marks deadline for many area projects
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GAYLORD -- It's crunch time for crews to begin wrapping up those summer long road construction projects. However, several viewers emailed 7&4 News asking why work had stopped at several project sites even though there is still work to be done.
One such project is the I-75 underpass project in Gaylord where crews are working to connect Milbocker and McCoy Roads.
"Every project has a completion date whether it be a calendar day or some projects are done in work days," said Tom Hilberg from the Michigan Department of Transportation. "Sometimes contractors bid on other jobs and they need their staff on those other jobs but just because they left for a short period of time, we're not worried because they have a proven track work of returning and they do finish the job."
With work already ramping back up, Hilberg says the Gaylord project is still on target for its deadline slated for the third week of October. Crews were out Friday completing curbing on the roadway. Hilberg says next week sidewalks will be placed and work will begin on leveling the gravel and putting in the hot asphalt mix.
Another viewer wrote asking abou the work stoppage on the bridge at business route US 23 in Rogers City. Hilberg says work has become delayed after they discovered one of the beams had more deterioration than previous thought.
"What happened is, they had to manufacturer this beam end and that's why there is a slowdown," Hilberg said. "We're waiting on that to be manufactured and we expect that to be back soon and we'll be back to work next week."
While these are only two projects out of countless projects MDOT is overseeing, Hilberg says while it is not uncommon for temporary work stoppages, when it comes down to it people should be aware that every project MDOT contracts out does contain a specified deadline for completion.
MDOT representatives invite local residents to contact local offices with questions or concerns about projects. MDOT also posts project updates on their website.
