Buckle up for a busy construction season in the coming weeks

The last portion of the repaving of Caniff, from Jos. Campau to Conant, will take place this spring and summer.

By Charles Sercombe
Getting around town will be a challenge this year.
Once warm weather settles in, the city is planning a number of road and water line upgrades.
And that means traffic will be tied up throughout the city.
At a recent meeting with the mayor and city council, a brief overview of the upcoming projects was presented, in the form of a financial report.
These projects are largely being funded by various federal grants, to the tune of over $19 million. For the most part, these are one-time-only grants.
Probably the biggest traffic headache will be the repaving of Caniff from Jos. Campau to Conant – which is the third, and final, part of the total repaving of Caniff from I-75 to Buffalo,
“Everyone is going to have to be patient,” said City Controller Syef Hamir Ahsan.
The city will also continue repaving alleys and streets, which will tie up more traffic.
Some of the projects completed so far include:
o Ongoing improvements to Veterans Park, and the handing off of control of the park to the Hamtramck Parks Conservancy.
o The purchase of land for the upcoming construction of a new DPW facility.
o The completion of about 400 lead service line replacements.
o Completion of the repaving of six streets.
o Completion of the repaving of seven alleys.
o The replacing of water mains in four areas of the city.
o The purchase of street sweepers and other vehicles for DPW, and for the police, fire, and code departments.
As for continuing these projects in coming years, that will all depend on how generous the federal government can afford to be. In the meantime, city officials say they will continue to seek grants.
City officials also hope to work out a 15-20 year plan to continue improvements in the coming years.
On top of the wish list is the replacing of the fire department’s aging fire trucks, which will require coming up with over a million dollars.
As for the city’s upcoming budget, city officials will be holding meetings in the coming weeks to hammer out its finances.
Posted March 22, 2024