As the assistant manager of Canton Township Chet's Rent-All, Howard Farmer has a million-dollar view of the daily chaos on Ford Road.

Farmer pointed out that at least several times a month the intimidating sound of metal-to-metal vehicle collisions vibrates through glass windows, which separate his work space from possibly the most chaotic road in Wayne County—between Lilley and Lilley. Dirty road of Ford Road. 

"You always hear the scream of tires first, and then you can prepare for the collision," Farmer said. "I saw a car passing through the brick wall over there (pointing to a three-foot-high decorative wall across Ford Road).

"This usually happens to them when someone tries to turn left into the business, they drive into the path of a car in the opposite direction. I've seen something ugly."

The farmer’s vision is about to become calmer; at least, once a two-mile-long boulevard is built to transport westbound and eastbound Ford Road from Hagerty to Shelton Road, this is the plan.

According to Adam Penzenstadler, project manager for the Michigan Department of Transportation, the primary goal of the boulevard is to significantly reduce the number of crashes on the road.

Penzenstadler said: "Most accidents are caused by a polite left turn. When a driver is driving in one direction, he stops and asks the driver to turn left from the middle lane." "However, cars driving in the outer lane may not stop. This leads to collisions.

"The boulevard can obviously prevent such accidents, because the central lane will be replaced by the boulevard."

Penzenstadler revealed that the project is currently in the design stage. After the design is completed, MDOT will have to purchase land from companies along Ford Road, because the reorganized road will cover a wider area than it currently covers.

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Penzenstadler said: "It's too early to tell when the design phase is complete." "There are many factors involved in this part of the project."

In November 2018, the project leader predicted that the best scenario is that the design phase will be completed at the end of 2019 or sometime in 2020. The bidding of construction works will take up most of the time in 2021, and the rock drill will be broken for the first time in 2022. asphalt. 

Penzenstadler said that the construction from 2022 is now a long process.

The original plan was to extend the boulevard by 2.5 miles, which would push it half a mile west of Shelton. 

"The plan now is to let it run from Hagerty to Shelton," Penzenstadler said. "If the township is willing, we can revisit it at any time."

Although he understood why the boulevard was needed, Farmer worried about what its construction would mean for Chet's bottom line.

"Ford Road is already a mess without construction, so once the project starts, it will definitely hurt us," he said. "Our biggest problem is that we have trailers going in and out here. When there is no construction, the towing is very difficult.

"I mean, we will find a way; we have to do it. There is a small road going west to Lilley behind our house, but many times it is blocked by the Goodwill delivery person next door."

Gary Krone, the owner of the Carvel ice cream franchise on the north side of Ford Road and about a quarter of a mile east of Lilley Road, said he has seen "at least 200" car accidents in the past ten years. .

Krone has mixed emotions about the idea of ​​the boulevard.

"I think the boulevard will minimize car accidents, which is obviously a good thing," Krone said. "But there is a boulevard in a crowded area like Ford Road. I don't know if it will solve any problems in terms of traffic."

Krone said that once construction begins, he must be creative to keep a steady flow of customers into his door.

"I haven't thought of anything specific yet, but (some form of incentive) is very possible," he said. "Ideally, the construction in front of my store will not be carried out in summer, my peak period, but we just need to hope for the best."

Tina Larkins, manager of The Bowery Grille & Pub, is located on Ford Road east of Haggerty Road. She hopes this building will not cost her company too much Business.

"We have a lot of regular customers-customers who come every day or every week-so I don't think construction will prevent them from coming here," Larkins said. "It was difficult to turn left into our place from the beginning. Most of our customers are from the west of Ford Road.

"There is a road to Hagerty Road behind our parking lot, so it also helps."

Penzenstadler said that MDOT and Canton Township have held meetings so that Guangzhou residents can express their concerns about the project.

"The feedback we received from residents and communities was very positive," he said. "I found that whenever you have a project like this that can solve a security problem, people usually get involved."

In August 2018, Guangzhou Town residents approved a voting proposal that would raise approximately US$5,506,872 per year for road maintenance and repairs over 20 years. Before the project is completed, the town will pay MDOT USD 1 million annually.

Penzenstadler said that a website is under construction that will provide residents with the latest information about the project. He said that MDOT hopes that the website will be ready for launch before the next community-wide meeting on the Boulevard Project to be held in early 2022.

Contact reporter Ed Wright at eawright@hometownlife.com or 517-375-1113.