UPDATED: Work on 12 Mile Road, Coolidge Highway Wraps Up

Work on the Coolidge Highway and 12 Mile Road intersection in Berkley wrapped up Monday.

Director Derrick Schueller said Monday morning all that was left to do was painting and the intersection should reopen later in the day.

"Everything really went well," he said.

Schueller said project engineer Hubbell, Roth & Clark Inc. of Bloomfield Hills and and contractor Florence Cement Co. Inc. of Shelby Township worked hard over the weekend to ensure the project that began June 26 would be finished Monday, its target completion date.

All businesses at the corner stayed open during the project and several of the proprietors participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday to celebrate the streets' reopening.

"Its been a rough couple of months for us," Sam Gulli of said in a press release. "We're grateful that the city stayed on top of it."

HRC has estimated the project would cost $375,000, .

"We won't know for a week or so exactly where we're at (financially)," Schueller said. "There were some pluses and minuses on both ends, but we're certainly on pace (to be on budget)."

Resident Jim Johnson, who was out walking his dog Monday morning, said he was pleased with the result.

"It looks great. It looks wonderful," Johnson said. "I've been checking it out every day. I've been keeping an eye on them."

Schueller was optimistic Monday that the new 10-inch nonreinforced concrete at the intersection, whose crosswalks and ramps are stamped, will stand the test of time. He said HRC took samples of the poured concrete and tested it, with all results positive.

"We're excited," City Manager Jane Bais-DiSessa said Monday. "I think the contractor did an excellent job. We're just pleased to have this project over and and done with."

So, what happens to the brick pavers that were pulled up from the intersection during the project?

Schueller said residents took some from the construction site. Others are being held at the DPW yard and a lottery will held to distribute them to the people who've requested them, who outnumber the bricks.

"It's too bad (the intersection's old bricks) didn't hold up," Johnson said. "I hope these hold up just as well as the last ones didn't."