CENTERVILLE-Most people think that the worst road in St. Joseph County has been repaired.

John Lindsay, manager of the St. Joseph County Road Commission, told the county commissioners at a meeting on Tuesday that the one-mile section of Constantine Road between Royce Road and Bank Street in Florence needs repairs. One mile has been repaired. Officially completed. This news aroused warm applause from the committee members and many participants.

"I'm here to report that the Constantine Road has been completed. Not only is it completed, but the journey from Baige to Sanhe is completed," Lindsay said. "This is a big deal."

Committee Chairman Dennis Allen said that District 4 Commissioner Dan Czajkowski told him that a ribbon-cutting ceremony should be held for the road. Lindsay said that given the importance of the project, the agency is considering a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

"We are talking about doing some kind of ribbon cutting," Lindsay said.

Czajkowski pointed out that this road used to be called the worst road in the county by local residents. He said that in order to finally complete this path, a lot of cooperation has been carried out.

"It took a long time, but most importantly, it was because of the cooperative efforts between the township, county and you, as well as some out-of-the-box ideas," Czajkowski said. "People need to see this; they have spoken, and things are done."

Lindsay said that the road still needs to be marked, adding that as part of the safety plan that partially funded the project, a rumbling belt will be placed in the middle of the road.

In addition to Constantine Road, Lindsay also gave an update on other roads under construction in the county. The project to rebuild Balk Road from US 12 to Airline Road and cover it from Airline to Featherstone Road is about to be completed. This is the agency's last paving project this year. Lindsay said that the second project to replace the Klinger Lake Road Bridge in Baige Town will be completed "in about the next two weeks."

Lindsay then provided a report on the department’s total cost of cleaning up the damage caused by the August storm, which is estimated to be approximately US$196,000. He said that the agency has applied for Article 19 reimbursement funds issued by the state and hopes to receive some. He said that the staff of the Road Committee worked 304 hours overtime to help clear the storm.

Finally, Lindsay asked the committee members to consider increasing the county’s contribution to the road committee’s failed road and bridge fund. He said that the county donated US$200,000 per year, which until recently fell to US$50,000. He said that he hopes that the donation can return to the amount of 200,000 US dollars to fund some upcoming related projects.

"Fawn River [Township] plans to arrive in November and they plan to cover Carls Road. They can't fund all of this, so we plan to use Failed Road and Bridge funds," Lindsay said. "We also used this money last year... of which $31,450 was used to build the Central Cologne Road in cooperation with Burr Oak Township. It has now been completed, from Hackman all the way to Cologne, using those matching funds."

He said that the cost of repairs to Karls Road is estimated at US$202,000.

Lindsay then discussed the Road Commission's request for the county to provide funding for the US rescue program to help the agency recover its overall financial status from the loss of revenue in 2020. He advocated that the county use the funds to help them solve their problems, and pointed out that other states with road agencies in the counties may be able to use ARP funds to make their agencies as a whole, but because the road commission is an independent entity in Michigan, he Say "it won't be like this."

District Commissioner Ken Malone believes that the lack of funds for the Road Commission is a state problem, not a county problem.

“Every time we invest money into the road, we draw it from our general fund and draw it from the departments that rely on funding,” Ma Long said. "Unfortunately, this is Lansing's business. Has anyone hunted down Lansing, hunted down the senator, the House of Representatives, to solve their 70-year-old problem?"

Lindsey said he "participated as soon as possible" to discuss these issues with Lansing, noting that the $750,000 received from the state for the upcoming restoration of the Langley Bridge was a success. He also said that Lansing is enacting a legislation requiring MDOT to purchase federal funds from the Road Commission and keep it on the MDOT project, and provide more funds to the Road Commission in return in the form of the Michigan State Transportation Fund.

"It won't change the amount, but it will provide us with better money we can spend," Lindsay said.

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