Laurium road project well under budget
Laurium road project well under budget
Isle Royale Street upgrade to be extended another block
By KURT HAUGLIE, DMG Writer
LAURIUM — It’s always good when public works projects come in on budget and on time, but it’s even better when the work is actually under budget.
That’s the case with the Isle Royale Street upgrade project in the Village of Laurium.
On Tuesday, streets/equipment/sanitation committee member Kevin Harju told the council that the Isle Royale Street project is $43,000 under budget. Since money for the project came from a Michigan Department of Transportation Small Urban Roads Grant, the extra $43,000 has to be used or it’s lost.
The project’s engineering was done by U.P. Engineers & Architects Inc. in Houghton and Harju said civil engineer Eric Waara proposed two options for using the money: The council could either change the asphalt curbing to more durable concrete or extend the paving of the street another block between Third and Second streets.
Harju said Waara recommended that the paving of the extra block would be the best option because although desirable, the concrete curbing would cost an additional $140,000 to $150,000 and would not be eligible for extra grant funding.
“At this stage in the game, it’s hard to bring in (the concrete curbing),” said Waara who attended the meeting. “My recommendation is to stay within the scope of the project.”
The extra paving would cost about $41,000 with 80 percent coming from the grant and 20 percent from the village. It would also require an extra $2,720 for additional engineering work.
Council voted 6-0 to do the extra paving with Councilman James Koskiniemi abstaining.
Waara said the Isle Royale Street project, which started Monday, should be completed by the end of August.
In other business, the council:
• approved the hiring of Sharon Turovaara as deputy clerk/treasurer.
• appointed Phyllis Clevenger to the Laurium Housing Commission board.
• heard from Streets/Equipment/Sanitation Committee member James Koskiniemi that pick up of household scrap metal will take place on July 10 on the north side of the village and July 12 on the south side. Appliances, yard equipment, such as lawn mowers and snow blowers, and other metal items will be picked up for disposal.
Kurt Hauglie can be reached at khauglie@mininggazette.com
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