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Township Road Notices
FYI/FAQ: All About Roads
Weesaw Roadscapes
2012: A Rough Year Ahead for Weesaw Roads?
“When you get home today, take a picture of your roads, because that’s as good as they’re going to get.” This was advice from Chuck Collins of the Berrien County Road Commission (BCRC). He was speaking at BCRC’s annual meeting with the Weesaw Township Board and explaining the announcement that BCRC had no money to budget for Weesaw Township road improvements in 2012.
In other words, the familiar yellow BCRC trucks will become a less frequent sight on our roads. Due to the steep reduction in funding from the Michigan Transportation Fund (MTF), the Road Commission has only enough money for day-to-day pothole patching, snow plowing, and some mowing. Money for major road improvements like this year’s work on Kaiser and Pardee roads has disappeared, a victim of the Great Recession and the decline in tax revenue.
So what, exactly, does “as good as they’re going to get” mean for Weesaw roads? According to the Michigan road rating system, projects funded by BCRC and Weesaw Township during that last few years have raised sections of California, Glendora, Kaiser, Cleveland, and Elm Valley roads into the “Good” category. At the same time, however, sections of Hills, Baldwin, Log Cabin, Pardee, Wagner, Gardner, Holden, and Warren Woods have deteriorated to “Fair,” “Poor,” or “Failed.” Overall, 40 of Weesaw ‘s 67 miles of road rate from “Fair” to “Failed,” requiring more than “day-to-day maintenance.”
Where will the money come from to maintain and improve this most important community asset?
- Short-term solution: As it has done for several years, the Weesaw Township Board could continue to contribute funds for local road projects, approximately $55,000 a year.
- Mid-term solution: The Berrien County Board has just recommended that a ½ mil road millage be placed before voters on the November 2012 election ballot. Passage would raise $21,000 for Weesaw Township in the first year of this six-year millage.
- Long-term solution 1: State Senator John Proos has introduced a bill that would move a portion of the 6% sales tax on gasoline into funding for roads. It awaits final passage by the Michigan legislature. This bill could raise up to $100 million a year for Michigan roads.
- Long-term solution 2: Governor Snyder has proposed raising vehicle registration fees $10 a month and shifting the tax on gasoline from a 19 cents flat tax at the pump to a 6.7% wholesale tax. Such changes would raise over $1 billion a year in road funds.
Stay tuned! The Weesaw Township Road Committee will provide future funding and maintenance updates.
About the Weesaw Road Committee
The Weesaw Township Road Committee is an all-volunteer committee created by the Weesaw Township Board. We provide information and advice to the Board regarding the maintenance and improvement of township roads. We meet the first Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at Township Hall (the corner of State and Berrien streets, New Troy, MI). We welcome the public to visit our meetings and share their thoughts about our roads, and we always invite new members to join us.
Road Committee Meeting Schedule:
December 6, 2011
January 3, 2012
February 7, 2012
March 6, 2012
For more information, contact Jack Dodds, Road Committee Secretary, at 269-545-8801 or drjdodds@csinet.net.
Welcome to Weesaw: Our New Signs
The skies over Berrien County may have been dreary. But November 7, 2011, was a bright day in Weesaw Township as John Castady and Keith Singleton of the Berrien County Road Commission Sign Shop installed our new township signs.
Celebrating our township’s rural heritage and famous camel-back bridge, our welcome signs greet visitors and residents alike as they enter the township.
FYI/FAQ: All About Roads
General Road Information
Weesaw Township has 67 miles of roads, 24 miles of primary and 43 miles of secondary roads. The most recent survey of our roads by the State of Michigan made the following evaluation:
Road miles rated “excellent”: None
Road miles rated “good”: 27
Road miles rated “fair”: 27
Road miles rated “poor” or “failed”: 13
What’s the difference between primary and secondary roads?
In each county, the board of county road commissioners identifies which roads are most important to county transportation and designates them as “primary roads.” All other public roads are designated as “local” or “secondary” roads. In Weesaw Township, primary roads include Browntown, Cleveland, Sawyer (from the township boundary to California), Mill, Glendora, Warren Woods, Kruger, and Galien Buchanan.
Generally speaking, county road commissions decide when specific primary roads require maintenance or repair. Federal funds pay for a portion of this work. Local roads are selected for maintenance or repair by township boards in discussion with county road commissions. They do not qualify for federal funding.
You can spot a primary road by the white stripes at the road’s edge.
Primary Road: Glendora
Secondary Road: Gardner
What causes potholes?
Potholes occur as the result of melting ice and snow. The melting water drains under the pavement through cracks caused by traffic. As the temperatures begin freezing at night, the water becomes ice and expands under the pavement, forcing the pavement to lift. As traffic continues to drive over this section of road and the temperatures rise above freezing, a shallow divot occurs under the road and the pavement breaks. A pothole is formed as a result. Potholes are mainly patched using county road commission patch trucks. (adapted from the Berrien County Road Commission Website)
Who “owns” Weesaw Township Roads?
Many Michigan residents believe that our roads belong to Michigan’s counties and their road commissions. Therefore, road repairs and the money to pay for them are the responsibility of these commissions.
It is true that the Berrien County Road Commission has jurisdiction over Weesaw Township roads and is responsible for their maintenance. But Public Act 51, the Michigan Law governing our roads, paints a more complete picture of how township road repairs are paid for. According to the law,
“Money distributed to county road commissions for the maintenance and improvement of county local road systems . . . represents the total responsibility of the state for local county road support. Additional funds required for the support of county local road systems may be supplied from other money returned to the township governments by the state [e.g., revenue sharing]. . . or from funds that can be raised by taxation in the townships or counties for road purposes . . .” (Section 247.664).
In other words, when road commissions have spent all the money sent to them by Michigan state government for road repairs, they’ve met their responsibility. If more repairs—and more money—are required, townships may add their own funds, raised from their general funds or from local road millages.
In sum, the answer to the question of who “owns” our roads—and, therefore, who is responsible for their upkeep—is that we all do: not only county and state governments, but also township residents, property owners, tax payers, and local governments.
Weesaw Roadscapes
Fall festival on Pardee Road
Glendora glories
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Cyclists on Boyle Lake Road
Asters with sumac on Gardner Road