FLUSHING -- Work is slated to resume on the partial rehabilitation of West Main Street, one of Flushing's most utilized roadways according to Flushing Department of Public Works Director Jeff Clark, and residents could see crews working in the area within the next two weeks.
For context, that project was supposed to be wrapped up by mid-August.
Clark was able to provide that update plus a few more new pieces of information during the Oct. 14 Flushing City Council meeting.
Clark said L.A. Construction, or the project subcontractor, was struggling to have conversations with the Huron and Eastern Railway (HESR,) which is owned by Genesee and Wyoming Inc. G&W is a railroad holding company that operates over 100 freight railroads.
Genesee and Wyoming acquired a portion of railroad that runs through Flushing in 2012 and has owned 394 miles of railroad since 2019.
According to earlier reporting, HESR is the permitting agency, and LA Construction was supposed to work with them in order to secure a permit.
Clark added that the subcontractor performing the work and G&W came close to executing the construction contract. He added L.A. Construction is now training all of their employees about railroad right of ways, and that subcontractors will be held to the same standards.
HESR spokesman Tom Cuiba also provided a statement about the observed delay of construction in Flushing.
"Admittedly, there was a bit of an administrative lag on Huron and Eastern Railway's (HESR) part," said Cuiba. "HESR is now awaiting final approval of the agreement we sent the contractor a few weeks back. That approval should be imminent. Once approval comes, it is up to the contractor to set the project start date. But HESR will supply all necessary resources for the project without delay."
As a refresher, the W. Main Street project was eligible for Transportation Improvement Project (TIP) funding, and dollars were allocated through the Genesee County Metropolitan Planning Commission.
Every three years, a metropolitan planning organization puts out a call for projects to local Act 51 agencies, which are municipalities and road commissions, but only major streets are eligible for Transportation Improvement Project funding.
However, Flushing is included within the Flint Urbanized Area. In addition, the TIP scoring system also looks at a road's Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating (PASER) scores in addition to economic impact and traffic counts.
The total cost of the project was estimated to be $507,773 according to the TIP Project section on the Genesee County Metropolitan Planning Commission's website. The city's portion is $197,005, and $397,398 will come from the federal government.
In addition, the city elected to have separate consultants perform the construction and design engineering phases. Rowe Engineering provided the construction engineering phase, and Wade Trim completed design engineering services for this project in 2023, according to City Manager Shelly King.
Clark said he has had a discussion with Rowe Engineering, who provided the construction engineering for the project, about the need to complete the project before winter.
"We won't be able to plow it the way it is and both L.A. Construction and their contractor are aware of that," said Clark.