MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Road construction work on Bennett Road is scheduled to begin the week of July 14. The project consists of resurfacing the existing pavement with new asphalt, drainage improvements, aggregate shoulders, along with widening the Okemos intersection to four lanes.

Bennett Road is going to be under construction from Hagadorn Road to Okemos Road. Roads will be closed while concrete removal is taking place and will be reopened to finish with reconstruction.

The project will include a research asphalt mix that is being monitored and designed by MSU and the DEQ with the use of ground-up tires. The idea is to develop a product that is marketable and beneficial in the long-term.

"Typically, additives to asphalt have been detrimental. And they've tried crumb rubber in the past, and it's been detrimental. But they're working on different methods to incorporate the crumb rubber, and that's what MSU is researching," said Daniel Troia, Project Engineer, Ingham County Road Department.

The road will have test sections with the experimental crumb rubber-modified mix and a control section without the crumb rubber mix to compare the different performances.

A Michigan Department of Environmental Quality
market development grant will fund an estimated $178,000 for the research test sections. The
remaining balance of the project will be funded by 80% Federal Highway funds and 20% local
match from Ingham County Road Department general funds.

Additional road work will be done on a portion of Hagadorn Road north of Jolly road prone to repeated flooding. This work will be performed in conjunction with the start of Bennett Road work using recycled pavement materials from Bennett Road, and is expected to be completed within a week.

Construction on Kinawa drive between Okemos Road and Dobie Road is also anticipated during the month of August.