Oakland County Federal Road Funding Committee will meet Feb. 11

The Funding Committee of the Oakland County Federal Aid Task Force will meet Feb. 11 to consider project submissions seeking federal-aid road funds for future projects for the year 2017.

The 14-member committee includes 10 representatives of Oakland’s cities, villages and townships, as well as two representatives of the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC), one representative from SMART (the suburban bus system) and one from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). It meets every February to identify the road projects that will receive available federal road funds three years in the future.

The committee will review projects submitted by RCOC and all the cities and villages in the county. Projects compete for the available funds. In order to receive federal road construction dollars, projects must be rated, ranked and approved by the committee.

“These funds are critical for local road improvements,” observed RCOC Managing Director Dennis Kolar. “Unfortunately, each year there are far more worthwhile projects submitted than there is funding available, and many needed projects must remain unfunded.”

For 2017, $15.95 million in federal funding is available for distribution. More than $50 million worth of projects were submitted in application requests.

The projects have been ranked using an objective point system that gives the most points to those projects that will do the most to improve motorist safety or pavement condition and reduce traffic congestion. Then, only the projects that receive the most points receive funding. Every year, numerous worthy projects remain unfunded because the need far exceeds the available funding.

RCOC and the county’s cities and villages rely primarily on federal funds for most major road construction projects. Without these funds, there would be very few major road projects undertaken on city, village or county roads.

A complete agenda packet can be downloaded from www.oaklandfac.org.

The meeting, which is open to the public, will begin at 9:00 a.m., and will take place in the Madison Heights Fire Department Headquarters Building, 31313 Brush St, Madison Heights.

About Sarah Hovis

Freelance wordsmith, arts appreciator, grammar geek, sports spectator, stationery snob, and world traveler, Sarah charts her own course as the owner of saliho creative. She uses her creative mind and engaging dialogue to fearlessly bring the written word to life in print and online… all while keeping a watchful eye out for the next literary adventure. You can reach her at sarah@rochestermedia.com.

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