MDOT - History, purpose and alternatives

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History, Purpose and Alternatives

M-15 is a north-south arterial stretching approximately 70 miles from U.S. 10 in Oakland County to U.S. 25 in Bay County. The segment to be studied runs approximately 20 miles, beginning at a junction with I-75 near the Village of Clarkston in Oakland County northward to the junction with I-69 near the City of Davison in Genesee County.

For the past ten years, traffic volumes on M-15 in Oakland County increased at the rate of 3.5% to 7% per year and population projections indicate that continued growth can be expected along this corridor.

A safety analysis of this corridor concluded that the existing accident experience is indicative of a roadway with capacity and turning movement deficiencies. Traffic volumes in the Genesee County portion of the corridor have also risen, but at a much slower pace.

However, several new housing projects have recently been initiated in this portion of the corridor. MDOT has been having regular meetings with the communities adjacent to the roadway to identify and implement operations improvements as they become warranted.

The study area of northeastern Oakland County and southeastern Genesee County is predominantly rural in nature but is already showing steady signs of suburban expansion. The Oakland County portion of the study area is dotted with small lakes and wetlands while the Genesee portion is characterized by agricultural activities.

Oakland County is one of the fastest growing counties in Michigan. The Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) projects that the townships surrounding the Oakland County portion of this corridor will be urbanized by the year 2010. Despite the urbanization in progress, the local residents are interested in maintaining the rural character that the area possesses today.

The purpose of this study is to:
1) Evaluate conditions surrounding the M-15 corridor between I-69 and I-75
2) Develop and evaluate improvement alternatives
3) Narrow those to the practical and feasible alternatives.
Corridor alternatives will be evaluated based on objective criteria (including cost) in consideration of legal and regulatory requirements, and in cooperation with the general public and other interested parties.

This will be a cooperative process, affording early and continuing involvement of the public, to include affected public agencies, private providers of transportation, and other interested parties in both Oakland and Genesee counties. The cooperative process will establish the range of alternatives for study, such as alignment, number of lanes, improvements to local roads, other innovative designs, improved access management, the use of demand management, and other operational improvements.

The study area is bounded by I-69 on the north, I-75 on the south and a band which is one mile wide both east and west of M-15. The boundaries of the study area may be reasonably expanded from these minimums as a result of the public involvement process.

The minimum alternatives to be examined are:
1) The no action (no build) alternative
2) Improvements to the M-15 corridor(with and without changes to the local road system)
3) Improvements to the existing local road infrastructure and no major changes to M-15
4) A Transportation Management System alternative.


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