Metro Detroit township official discovers road collapsing

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Clinton Township Clerk Kim Meltzer drives on Garfield Road every day to go to work, but recently, she noticed an unusual drop in the road.

"It wasn't a crack in the road. It was kind of a sinking dipping feeling," Meltzer said.

She said she noticed it got worse in a very short period of time.

"I was just concerned about the safety of the road, and the best way to manage that was to call the right people," she said. "It was determined it was a very critical issue that needed addressing right away, so I am grateful we have this network of people that care about our community"

Metlzer said her first call was to Scott Chabot with Anderson, Eckstein & Westrick, a consulting firm that works with the township and many other governments across Macomb County.

Chabot said his first impression was that something was very wrong, so he contacted crews to go underground and take a closer look.

"Which they investigated promptly to do an assessment of that," Chabot said.

Joe Tresick, chief inspector for public services in Clinton Township, said if Meltzer hadn't noticed the drop and got the ball rolling so quickly, the road would have certainly collapsed.

"Water and debris would get through the brick, and washing away the top section of sand, or stone that's holding the road up, so eventually it gets through the manhole and drops down," Tresick said.

Tresick said the manhole shaft at the location on Garfield near Clinton River Rd. was constructed in the 1950s and was failing, causing part of the road to sink.

Crews were out rebuilding the shaft on Thursday.

Moving forward, Meltzer said with the aging infrastructure across the state and the country, she would like for drivers to be more aware of potential issues like this and report it.

"If they are traveling on a regular basis and see something not quite right, say something," Meltzer said.

Meltzer also said that local governments are going to need help addressing the aging infrastructure.

"And as a result of that, it needs financial attention needs attention that comes not just locally, but also the state of federal governments are gonna have to start getting involved with funding."