Will Berkley Shops Lose Business During Summer Road Construction?

The proposed project to repave and consequentially close the intersection of 12 Mile and Coolidge in Berkley is any business owner’s worst nightmare.

That’s why City Manager Jane Bais-DiSessa met with local business owners before officially proposing the project to City Council on Monday.

“I know how difficult it is and I didn’t want to wait until after the contract was approved to meet with you all and hear your questions,” she told a small group of around a dozen residents and local business owners who gathered for the public meeting in on Wednesday evening.

“I know it will have a big impact on your businesses.”

A look at the project

The $375,000 project is scheduled to begin in June and run through August, closing down the intersection as the brick area is replaced by nonreinforced concrete.

The nearly 10-year-old brick area is lifting, creating a danger for motorists, so the project is urgent, Bais-DiSessa explained. The completed project will then lend a freshly paved road for Woodward Dream Cruise festivities in August.

Hubbell, Roth & Clark Inc. of Bloomf ield Hills has been brought on as the consulting engineer and Shelby Township’s Florence Cement Co. Inc. has offered the lowest bid for contracting.

A detour will direct all nonresidential traffic around the area via major roads (such as 11 Mile to Greenfield to 13 Mile to Woodward), though businesses will remain open with entryways during the construction.

For business owners, however, this means much less traffic for potential customers passing by and also more of a hassle for customers who do still come through.

Keeping business flowing

General Manager Lou Sawyer was one of the attendees at the meeting to ask tough questions, like why now, during a summer season when business often peaks.

Bais-DiSessa said simply, “Time is of the essence.”

Because the project needs to be done, she said the best strategy the city sees is to dive in and complete the entire intersection at once, which is the most efficient and cost-effective way to go about the planning.

“It will be quick to get right out of there,” she said. But even “quick” means shutting the intersection down for a six weeks.

“I thought it would be closed for about two weeks,” Sawyer said. “Six or seven weeks if we’re lucky.”

Thomas Biehl, executive vice president of Hubbell, Roth & Clark, also addressed the possibility of traffic attempting to bypass construction at the intersection by using local businesses’ driveways. He said the matter has already been taken up with and if need be, police will be stationed at the intersection to issue citations.

Maximizing sign usage

Bais-DiSessa and Biehl assured everyone at the meeting that ample signage would be placed to direct interested traffic to their open businesses during construction. “We’ll do everything we can,” Bais-DiSessa said.

She explained that the businesses will be heavily publicized on the city website, cable channel and through flier distribution so customers know they are still open.

Business owners and others directly affected by the construction are also welcome to suggest sign ideas and anything else that might help make the project go over more smoothly for locals.

As of now, signs are set to include businesses in all four corners of the intersection: O’Mara’s restaurant in the southwest corner, in the southeast, and the northwest-corner plaza, which includes , and . makes up the northeast corner.

One suggestion was to have general signs that say “All Berkley businesses open during construction.” Bais-DiSessa and Biehl warmly agreed.

Next steps

At a meeting tonight, the project will be presented to the , which will then propose the project to City Council at the next meeting on Monday for final authorization.

Bais-DiSessa said the project should have no dilemmas or setbacks being approved and be ready to begin by mid-June.

Stay with Patch as plans for the construction project are finalized over the coming weeks.