North Leroy Street in Fenton Opens to Traffic Sunday

Rain on Friday meant the paving on North Leroy Street finished Sunday, leaving the approximately $1.5 million project 95 percent complete, Fenton Department of Public Works Director Daniel Czarnecki said Monday.

Adding traffic lane lines and new signs, and doing restoration work and cleaning need to be done, he said. A final inspection will take place before the last payments are made.

The city contributed $280,000 of the funding, with $1.12 million coming through federal transportation funds. Including engineering costs, the project cost over $1.5 million.

Next year’s Streetscape Project will make the North Leroy one look rather small, Czarnecki added.

The North Leroy project began May 14, and the road was open Sunday, said Councilman Les Bland. For the amount of work, just over four months was not a lot of time, he said.

Ace Asphalt was general contractor, with Angelo Iafrate Construction Company the main subcontractor. OHM provided engineering services.  for completion was the end of August, Czarnecki said. The city extended the deadline due to unexpected issues. 

The contractor requested a different method of stabilizing the roadway in front of VG’s Foods, Czarnecki said, using wooden piles. City officials reviewed and approved the proposed change in a week, and it took a couple of weeks to obtain materials, he said.

Workers cut off the wooden piles, and the roadway is sitting on posts in front of VG’s Foods, Czarnecki said. The technique is also used for bridge supports, he added.

The road construction experienced a few bumps along the way.

A major setback was a water main break that Czarnecki believes was “bound to happen.” A sanitary sewer pipe was on top of the water main underground, with a storm sewer on top of the sanitary sewer. It was best that the break happened before the project was completed, he said. The contractor and engineering firm helped the City of Fenton complete the repairs.

In addition, heavy rains in August and early this month created some drainage issues. The owners of the plaza where VG’s Foods is located understand that it’s private property in the parking lot, he said. And city staff is working on ways to help resolve the situation.

Councilwoman Pat Lockwood said there were around 80 businesses on North Leroy Street that were affected by the construction. The city needs to improve communication, she added. And people shouldn’t underestimate the effect the construction had on businesses, Lockwood said.

The North Leroy Street business owners are very positive, said Councilman Brad Jacob, who attended a recent meeting of the group. They are looking ahead and discussing how to get the word out about the project.

One of the business owners would like to have a grand opening of North Leroy Street, Mayor Sue Osborn said.

More construction coming, with county’s project

More orange barrels are in sight for those taking Leroy Street north of the city limits, where it becomes Fenton Road.

The Genesee County Road Commission is getting ready to begin its from the city limits to Butcher Road, Czarnecki said. City administrators will work with the road commission, to help businesses in the area.