A Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) project involving the construction of a 54-inch water main to interconnect two existing GLWA transmission mains on 14 Mile Road and 8 Mile Road is underway.
The project was initiated in response to the pipe failure experienced in October 2017 that impacted Novi, Farmington Hills, West Bloomfield, Commerce, Walled Lake and Wixom. The new main will provide redundancy and improved operational flexibility during routine maintenance or emergency situations (again experienced this winter) on either transmission main in the future.
The project was publicly bid in 2021, a $98 Million contract was awarded to Ric-Man Construction and Clark Construction (a joint venture). This project is being handled separately from the ongoing Phase 1 project along 14 Mile, which is being constructed by a different contractor.
As an additional benefit, the City entered a cost share agreement with GLWA for reconstruction of four road segments in the path of the new redundancy main:
- 11 Mile Road from Seeley to Meadowbrook
- Meadowbrook Road from 11 Mile Road to the I-96 bridge
- Meadowbrook Road from 12 Mile Road to 13 Mile Road
- 13 Mile Road from Meadowbrook to M-5
These projects will be completed with substantial cost savings and economies of scale from the $98M the GLWA project. The four segments were estimated at $2.9 million, however, bids were favorable and the new estimate is $1.7 million.
Construction is expected to begin in February along the west side of M-5 between 14 Mile and 13 Mile and then move to boring operations under I-96. The road construction timeline is pending contractors final schedule submission.