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The board reopened a meeting on Monday, May 5, and unanimously approved the road project. The board accepted a bid from Duininck Brothers for $347,824 to do the project, though some modifications may still be made to the plans before construction begins later in the summer. Duininck was the low bidder out of seven bids for the project.

The road project Ð in the township planning for several years Ð will include a section of eight-foot pedestrian trail, likely separated from the roadway by six feet. This section of trail would run on the north side of Crestridge Road, starting at Co. Rd. 181, cross NW Koronis Road, run on the west side of NW Koronis Road, and then on the north side of Breezewood Road until the end of Lake Koronis, where Breezewood Road intersects with Baywater Road.

A road construction project in Paynesville Township will be done this summer, redoing Crestridge Road, the southern portion of NW Koronis Road, and Breezewood Road. A pedestrian and biking trail will be built as part of the project.

The route of the trail along the west side of NW Koronis Road differs from the original township plan. Doing this avoids having to cut so many trees in the road right-of-way on the east side of the road, and it also reduces the number of road crossings for the trail to one.

That intersection will be at the steep hill where NW Koronis Road and Crestridge Road meet. The crest of this hill Ð known locally as Tolman's Hill Ð will be cut to improve visibility at that intersection.

Originally, the township plans called for cutting the crest of this hill by four or five feet, but the township board has since learned from its contractor that more fill may be needed to construct the trail. Cutting this hill even more would provide the project with more fill for the trail.

While the trail will be in the road right-of-way, both NW Koronis Road and Breezewood Road border wetlands, necessitating mitigation. The township will need to get these wetlands delineated and get the proper permits to do construction work in any wetlands.

On Monday, May 12, the township board voted to hire a wetland specialist to delineate the wetlands Ð needed in order to get the permits and to know how much wetland area needs to be mitigated Ð and also voted to hire an engineer from Duininck Brothers to do design changes for $3,000.

It appears that Crestridge Road will get an overlay of tar and that NW Koronis Road will be milled and retarred, but the township board still has not decided if they will mill or overlay Breezewood Road. The worst sections of Breezewood Road will likely be milled, too, but the township could save some money by overlaying the rest.

The township could also save some money by ending the trail 600 feet from Baywater Road, if needed. The township board will have a preconstruction meeting with the contractor before work starts.

Originally, the township was going to require that work on the project not start until after Sept. 1, in order to avoid having the road work done during the heavy traffic of summer, but the board has expressed a willingness to allow the contractor to start earlier, if this will help the project.

"It's going to be inconvenient no matter when they do it," said supervisor Pat Meagher.

"I think the quality of the project is more important than convenience," agreed board chairman Don Pietsch.

Residents should always be able to get in and out of their homes, but there may be some inconvenience due to the work and the truck traffic.

The contractor will need to notify the township board and get approval before starting work, in order for the township to alert residents that work is going to start.