Scio Township taking next steps on the Zeeb Road Pathway

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will the Zeeb Road pathway.

However, the completion of the pathway is on the horizon.

Another step toward that was taken at the Oct. 27 Scio Township Board meeting, where the board approved a contract with OHM for engineering services on Phase 4 of the Zeeb Road pathway including preliminary work on the Huron River bridge crossing and railroad crossing.

The cost of the contract will be $84,900. The township’s decision states funds will be available from the recently passed Parks and Pathways millage, but a temporary loan from the General Fund may be needed until the taxes are collected from the millage.

In giving some background, Scio Township Supervisor Jack Knowles said the construction documents for Phase 3 of the Zeeb Road pathway are complete and currently under review at the Washtenaw County Road Commission, and a bid package has been prepared for a clearing contract for Phase 3, to be bid yet this fall.

“The Phase 3 path project will be put out to bid in early January for a spring 2021 start with a summer 2021 completion,” Knowles said.

Phase 4 will include the remainder of the path, from the north end of Phase 3 to Peters Road, a distance of approximately 3,600 feet. Knowles said the completion of these plans in spring 2021, could result in a summer bid process and a late summer 2021 construction start. He said also included in this contract is early "scoping" work for the bridge over the river and the pathway through the railroad right of way.

According to the township report, each of these items will require a significant amount of work.

The path's route has changed a bit since this project was first presented.

Knowles said the plan was to go across Ann Arbor-Dexter and then continue up the west side and go across Miller and then turn right and cross Zeeb.

That route would have seen a significant increase in the project costs because it would have required the placement of a traffic signal at the intersection, according to Knowles.

Now the updated plan still has the path crossing over Ann Arbor-Dexter, but then turning right and crossing Zeeb at the existing traffic signal and then makes its way to cross over Miller on the east side. Pedestrian signals and a crosswalk will be put in.