Macomb County’s 2026 pavement preservation program covers 63 primary and local roadways, with a $24 million investment and construction affecting commutes across the county. Among the work, a bridge deck pour will close Schoenherr Road in Sterling Heights, while a temporary signal will reduce Jefferson Avenue to one lane in Chesterfield Township. The projects are part of a broader slate of road work planned for 2026.
A $24 Million Push Across 63 Roadways
The Macomb County Department of Roads says this year's program includes 20 asphalt overlay projects, 15 concrete patching projects and 28 crack-sealing locations, according to the Macomb County Department of Roads. The department manages more than 1,700 miles of roads and 226 bridges. In Clinton Township, Little Mack Avenue, Carlier Street and South Nunneley Road have been open to local traffic only since Aug. 17 while crews rebuild the roadway, with work expected to continue through November.
How the $24 Million Program Fits the County Budget
The $24 million figure is for this pavement-preservation program; the county’s broader 2026 plan includes more than $88 million in road, bridge and traffic improvements, while its adopted budget separately anticipates $108.2 million in Department of Roads spending on road repair and maintenance in 2026 and $307.5 million over three years, according to Macomb County’s 2026 Adopted Budget. These figures describe different program and budget categories; the cited budget figures do not specify how the $24 million program relates to the broader totals. The Department of Roads manages more than 1,700 miles of roadway in a county with more than 4,400 miles of roads overall, according to the department. The department says its funding comes from several sources, including Michigan Transportation Fund revenue through Public Act 51, federal funds, local cost-share agreements and its fund balance, but does not give a breakdown of the share provided by each source, according to the Macomb County Department of Roads.
Joseph Tillman, who lives along Little Mack Avenue, told WXYZ Channel 7 he welcomes the reconstruction after 16 years of driving on a rough stretch. He said he is pleased the road is finally being replaced. County crews began the work in August.
Bridge Work Squeezes Traffic in Chesterfield and Sterling Heights
Crews began repairs Monday on a Jefferson Avenue bridge over Auvase Creek between 21 Mile and Cotton roads in Chesterfield Township, and the span will be limited to one lane with temporary traffic signals through Oct. 30, according to the same work zone notice. WXYZ reported that Stephani Wutka, who owns Atria Beauty Collective near the construction, was concerned about possible effects on customers from traffic and nearby closures. Meanwhile, Schoenherr Road in Sterling Heights is scheduled to close entirely from Tuesday through Oct. 27 so crews can pour a new bridge deck over the Red Run Drain, per the roads department's tracker.
Further north, 24 Mile Road remains closed to through traffic between Romeo Plank Road and Foss Road for a reconstruction project running from July through November, and Rosso Highway between I-94 and Jefferson Avenue is in the middle of a road relocation and reconstruction effort that will stretch into November 2027. The county cautions that all these dates are estimates subject to change, since weather can cause delays or cancellations.
A Skeleton Crew Brings Levity to Macomb Township
Bob Roxy, who lives just off Romeo Plank Road in Macomb Township, made a Halloween display of skeletons dressed as road construction workers, with cones, signs and flaggers. He told WXYZ that construction has made getting around difficult, but people seem to enjoy the display and road crews have stopped to take pictures.
Billions in Need, and a Funding Gap Officials Say Persists
County Executive Mark Hackel highlighted the scope of the problem at the county's State of the Roads address, saying that 48 percent of county roads need repairs and that the infrastructure gap for road projects and other road-related problems sits at roughly $2.5 billion, according to Hackel as reported by WXYZ. The roads department has separately put the total need at $2.6 billion to fix every road and bridge under its jurisdiction, a figure cited on the county's own site outlining its progress and investments — a discrepancy in scope and sourcing that the county has not reconciled publicly. Hackel said the county is moving toward more sustainable funding and that roads are beginning to reach good or stable condition, projecting that nearly 62 percent of county roads will reach good or fair pavement condition by 2030, up six percentage points from 2025.
Regional data lends some support to that trajectory. Southeast Michigan's share of roads rated in good condition rose to more than 23 percent in the 2021-2022 rating cycle from 21 percent in 2018-2019, while the share of lane miles rated in poor condition fell to 34 percent from 43 percent over the same period, a reduction of 1,554 lane miles, according to the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments. Every road owner in the SEMCOG region saw reductions in poor-condition pavement during that period, the organization found. Still, Macomb County road officials cautioned in September that additional state funding will support strategic investments but will not repair every road, large culvert or bridge overnight, according to the Macomb Daily.
More Projects on the Horizon
The county invested more than $73 million in road, bridge and traffic improvements in 2025 and has more than $88 million planned for 2026, including a reconstruction and modernization of the intersection of 26 Mile Road and Hayes Road estimated to cost $1.25 million, with $750,000 coming from federal funding. Elsewhere, a bridge over Auvase Creek on Sugarbush Road in Chesterfield Township was closed after a county engineer's inspection on Sept. 3 found deterioration inside its culvert; officials have flagged it as a potential 2027 replacement project, with an estimated cost of about $2 million, if funding becomes available. For now, residents along 10 Mile Road in Warren and 27 Mile Road in Washington Township are navigating their own slice of the 2026 pavement preservation program, with concrete patching and asphalt resurfacing work continuing through November even as the county insists access to local businesses and properties will generally be maintained.
