WHITEHALL — At Tuesday’s meeting, Whitehall city council members approved the payment for the Warner Street engineering project. With this project being tied to the Michigan Department of Transportation, council member Scott Brown questioned why there was a high increase in the cost. The project auditing from MDOT originally stated the project would cost $79,700. The cost is now $158,200.
City treasurer Alyssa Seaver was present at the meeting and explained it was the project design that was $79,700. The construction engineering could have been estimated, but not confirmed, prior to the meeting because the project had been pushed out so long and construction costs had increased.
“The addition was afterwards. They had a better idea of what construction costs were going to be for completing the street project and for the actual construction engineering,” Seaver said. “That is the $158,200.”
Construction on Warner St. already started March 18, so the council felt their hands were tied and they must move forward with this purchase due to the tree trimming, tree removal and pavement removal that had already taken place.
Water main installation is set to take place April 2 to mid-July; residents living in the area who are estimated to be affected will be notified 24 hours in advance before disruptions to the drinking water. Mid-July to August will include repaving and restriping. Warner Street will be reopened to traffic before August 17. The city recommends travelers use Lewis Street, Mears Avenue and Spring Street to get around construction. The biggest interruption is estimated to be the closing of the Benston and Warner intersection, which poses an inconvenience in the traffic to Howmet. The city says the closing of the intersection is unavoidable due to the mass amount of water main infrastructure taking place in the area. A detour will be directed to White Lake Drive.
Seaver said she is looking into further details about why the cost increased so drastically and will report back to the city council with an answer.
