City plans for street repairs, reconstruction

Looking north on Clinton Street from Territorial Street. Photo by Marsha Chartrand.

by Marsha Chartrand

“We’ve got a mandate here in Michigan to fix the damn roads,” said City Manager Michael Sessions, “and so we’re going to get out there and fix the damn roads!”

During the bit of summer we have left, there will be a flurry of city street resurfacing in Manchester, including one parking lot. Carr Park paving will begin on August 20, 2025, and will be performed by K&B Asphalt; street paving will begin the week of September 2, 2025, and will be done by Michigan Paving. These projects involve Territorial Street from S. Macomb to W. Main Street.; Clinton Street from W. Duncan to Territorial; Wolverine Street from City Road to Vernon Street; Vernon Street from S. Clinton to S. Washington; and N. Washington Street from Madison to its dead end.

Letters are going out to all residences and businesses on these streets that will be impacted. Residents and businesses will still be able to get out of their homes or businesses.

Sessions and DPW Supervisor Brent Jones take a lot of pride in the work that has been achieved over the last seven years on street projects. A total of $1,665,808.60, mostly Village and City tax dollars, but also leveraged by state and federal grants, has been expended on street repairs since 2018.

“We are blessed that due to careful budgeting and the grant programs we’ve participated in, we have not resorted to chip-seal,” Sessions commented. “That’s a story we don’t always get to tell. We don’t have to recycle our old streets to repair our new ones. It’s a story that not all small communities are able to tell at all.

“Brent has done a great job spearheading this program,” he continues, “and Council has been very supportive of his efforts. He’s also done a great job of building relationships with other cities and with communities. That’s been a key to our success.”

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.