Oil Costs Affect Road Paving and Maintenance

BINGHAM TWP. – Traversed more by cracks than cars, Taft Road just south of St. Johns is falling apart.

It has deteriorated so much that Clinton County officials are on the verge of letting nature have her way.


They would grind down what is left of Taft into bits of stone and leave it – gravel to gravel, dirt to dirt.

Other alternatives are too expensive, officials say. Those include spending $100,000 to repave the mile-long stretch or endlessly patching it with material that can cost even more on a per-ton basis.

“No money – I guess everybody is in the same boat, right?” asked Margaret Surdenik, 78, who has lived on Taft for more than 40 years.

This year, at least three mid-Michigan counties have considered converting paved roads to gravel as a budget fix.

Lansing St. Journal