HOWELL — A long-awaited project aimed at providing easier traffic access to Genoa Township received more approvals from Howell City Council on Monday, but not without concern.
As developers Jordan and Mark Dick work on Motorsports Gateway, the city is taking steps to build a "loop road," which would utilize Old Pinckney Road to connect D-19 and Lucy Road. The route would allow travelers to bypass downtown Howell, though the city prefers to focus on train crossing relief and easier emergency access .
On Monday, council voted unanimously to award phase one of the project to Springline Excavating LLC of Farmington Hills, for an amount not to exceed $2,170,745.48. Construction engineering services are a separate contract, not to exceed $189,176.
The project’s first phase will pave Lucy Road and run utilities like water supply, sanitary sewer and storm sewer.
Council also approved the sale of up to $4 million in bonds to fund a portion of the project. Assuming the work stays on schedule, the bonds will be delivered Sept. 18, around the time phase one is expected to begin.
More: A new 'loop road' in Howell could connect D-19 to Lucy Road — but it's not without concerns
The connector project will also provide access to Motorsports Gateway. It's expected to decrease downtown truck traffic and provide access to land-locked properties.
But Aaren and Jennie Currie, who own NextHome Statewide Realty, are frustrated with the plan. Their office is located where Old Pinckney Road meets D-19.
More: A new 'loop road' in Howell could connect D-19 to Lucy Road — but it's not without concerns
More: Howell grants final approval to 'automotive district' Motorsports Gateway
Aaren previously voiced concerns about traffic safety and how the loop road will impact his office.
On July 24, he posted a video to his YouTube channel , in which he confronted an officer with the Howell Police Department and employees with the Department of Public Works who were working on or near his property.
He told the officer the employees were trespassing. The officer said she'd been instructed to be present to keep the peace. In the end, the employees left.
“This is bad blood. This is bullying,” Aaren told the officer. “This is the city trying to take advantage of a system. I don’t know who they’re in bed with, with the Motorsports Gateway, with the Dicks out here from Novi, but this is garbage.”
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While speaking during public comment Monday, Aaren commended the officer for her level head.
“My wife and I felt attacked. ... We felt that our property was being destroyed. ... It could have went severely wrong.”
Jennie also spoke during public comment.
“Never have we seen, in all the years that we've worked in our office, any traffic down what is supposedly Old Pinckney Road,” she said. “The easement there, which I guess is really not an easement if you look at the Register of Deeds, it's never been maintained for all those years. We've never seen traffic down there until about probably six to eight months (ago) and then it's become what's pretty much dangerous.”
— Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@livingstondaily.com .
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: 'This is bullying': Howell takes first steps on loop road, but conflict continues
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