GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Five days after heavy rain left Reeds Lake Boulevard flooded, most water has receded, but the road's persistent flooding issues remain unresolved.
The stretch of road on the border of East Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Township has experienced flooding problems since the 1930s, according to Jerry Byrne, managing director for the Kent County Road Commission.
Unstable Foundation
"We've dealt with this issue since, since the 30's," Byrne said. "Where we're standing on is about 17 feet of muck and peat, so very unstable soils."
The road is built using specialized techniques to address the challenging conditions.
"This road is actually floated on what I'm going to say are mattresses. It's really lightweight aggregate wrapped in a fabric," Byrne said. "We want to keep as much weight off that muck that's underneath here as we can."
Multiple Causes
The flooding stems from several factors beyond just soil conditions, including lake drainage and nearby development that reduced natural runoff areas.
"It's a combination of a lot of things, but Reeds Lake, the biggest thing is it's unstable soils," Byrne said.
Safety Protocol
When flooding occurs, the road commission closes the road to through traffic while keeping it accessible to residents and emergency services.
"Emergency vehicles, fire, police, people can get in, out of the residence, inconvenient, but not unsafe, not unpassable," Byrne said.
They are hoping to remove road closure signs Wednesday.
No Major Improvements Planned
Budget constraints prevent major upgrades to the road, which carries less than 1,000 cars daily.
"When we look at limited dollars, are we going to spend maybe a half a million dollars here with something that carries less than 1000 cars a day? Or I'm going to spend that half a million and take care of 30,000 cars a day?" Byrne asked.
Previous pedestrian infrastructure failed due to the conditions. A boardwalk was removed within the past few years.
"This had a boardwalk. That boardwalk rotted because it was in the water all the time. So they took the boardwalk out," Byrne said.
Resident Frustration
Neighbor Andrea Hekman expressed concerns about the ongoing issues when the road initially flooded.
"There's a major walking path that they've redone several times, to no avail, it continues to flood so without any major project, I don't foresee the issues going to get resolved any time soon," Hekman said.
Byrne suggests residents call 911 during flood emergencies and said the current approach balances safety with available resources.
"It's the best we can do with what we have to work with in today's times. We would not want a road here," he said.
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