The village of Berrien Springs has won an award for a street project it completed this year.
The Mechanic Street Improvements Project has received first place in the Transportation category from the American Public Works Association, Southwest Branch, recognizing excellence in public infrastructure, transportation planning, and project delivery. Village Public Works Superintendent Dave Kunde tells us the project sought to improve about 2,100 feet of pavement and drainage while addressing some infrastructure needs.
“We did the street, we did water lines, all new water lines, got rid of any galvanized that was on the street. We installed a couple of fire hydrants, added two fire hydrants on the street, did some storm water improvements, and did some sanitary sewer improvements,” Kunde said.
Kunde says Wightman helped design the work, keeping the project’s cost below $1 million, which is unusual for the amount done. He says the careful planning behind the project is the main reason it won the award.
“We took a different approach to this project where we did go into the asset management plans that we have and we identified areas that needed to be repaired and replaced instead of just saying, we’re just going to replace 2100 feet of sewer line.”
Village Council Member Mark VandeVere says clear communication with residents and partners was also key to the project’s success.
“From a resident perspective in the village, nothing is ever perfect, right? But that road is usable at a level that’s probably a factor of 10 in terms of quality over what it was,” VanderVere said. “The drainage is massively improved, and it went from being a hot mess to being actually a very pleasant, comfortable road to drive down now.”
The project’s cost was about $830,000. Part of it was covered by a state grant of about $240,000, while the rest was paid for by the village.
Berrien Springs Community Engagement Coordinator Jennifer Marren says residents were kept in the loop throughout the construction, and now they’re pleased with the results.
