Marshall County Highway Department crews are working to follow the state and local guidelines when it comes to safety surrounding COVID-19.
Highway Superintendent Jason Peters said some of the employees who have underlying medical conditions that could make them more susceptible to contracting the virus are at home. They are on call if an emergency arises, but for now they are safe at home.
If employees are out in the field, they are taking their own county vehicle to a work site and exercising social distancing on a project. Peters said there is only one worker in the vehicle at a time and it is wiped down everyday. They go directly from home to the site and check in at the highway garage by email or text so Peters knows where they are.
He asks that residents be patient in this time of uncertainty. State funding for projects will be cut. The Motor Vehicle Highway and Local Roads and Streets funds come in monthly, and Peters anticipates over a 40 percent reduction in those funds from the State. He will be making some adjustments to this year’s road program to account for the projected losses.
Peters said he is unsure if Community Crossings Matching Grant projects for this current round will be awarded. The project submitted for this year was North Michigan Street from the roundabout north of Plymouth to 3A Road.
