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Facts About Michigan County Road
Commissions
County Road Commissions were organized
by Act 283 by the Michigan Legislature
in 1909 to achieve two primary goals: To
provide uniformity in road construction
and maintenance across the state; and to
provide cost efficient and high-quality
road services for local roads.
There are 78 county road commissions in
Michigan. County road commissions are
not part of general county government,
except Wayne, Macomb, Jackson, Ingham
and Calhoun counties, which have a
public works department instead of a
road commission. They are legally
separate entities, receiving nearly all
of their operating funds directly from
the state.
Every county road
commission has a three-member or
five-member board that is either
appointed by the county board of
commissioners or elected by the voters.
The Houghton County Road Commissioners
serve staggered six-year terms so that
every two years, one commissioner’s term
expires.
The county board of
commissioners decides how the road
commission board members are chosen,
depending on what method is deemed to be
in the best interest of the county.
Road commissions hold regular board
meetings at least once a month. The
public is invited and encouraged to
attend these meetings. In addition,
public hearings are scheduled to
communicate with county residents on a
variety of road and safety issues.
County road commissions have a
variety of responsibilities including,
but not always limited to, maintaining
almost 90,000 miles of roads and 5,700
bridges, 365 days a year. Some of the
many county road commission duties
include the following:
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Ensuring steady and safe traffic
patterns
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Gravel road upkeep
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Road and bridge construction, repair
and maintenance
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Snow removal, salting and sanding
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Surface treatments and chip/crack
sealing
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Street painting and marking
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Maintaining road signage
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Controlling roadside vegetation,
mowing and brush cutting
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Roadside ditch and drain
preservation
State Law - Public Act 51 - specifically
states that cities, villages, county
road commissions and the Michigan
Department of Transportation have
jurisdiction over roads. That means
those government agencies are
responsible for building and maintaining
the roads within their jurisdictions.
They also carry the legal liability for
those roads. Road commissions also work
hard to maintain roads within their
jurisdiction- and although drivers don’t
always know who is responsible for the
roads they drive on, they can be assured
that county road commissions are taking
the best care of the roads.
Townships do not have jurisdiction over
roads and do not receive any funding
directly from the state. Instead, county
road commissions maintain roads in
townships with road commission funds.
This ensures that all roads are
maintained efficiently and without
financial burden to the township and
ensures uniform service throughout the
county. Some road improvements in
township - bridge replacement, road
widening, etc. - are federally funded.
Townships often help provide a matching
of funds for local road projects.
County road commissions regularly
meet with the townships in their
counties to help determine maintenance
and construction priorities.
Construction and maintenance projects
are planned and coordinated with active
input from township officials and
residents.
The Michigan
Department of Transportation (MDOT)
contracts with approximately 63 county
road commissions across the state.
Although county road commissions do the
work, they operate under the
specifications of MDOT.
Michigan has
the fourth-largest system of local roads
in the US and is one of the
approximately twenty states that must
manage several freeze-thaw cycles per
year and months of snow and ice.
For more details about Michigan’s
county road commissions, see
www.micountyroads.org.
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