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The City of Houghton has big plans for Lakeshore Drive.
Those include completing some water system loops along that stretch, as well as replacing some older sewers in the area and putting in some storm sewer connections.
The project will have several benefits to the community.
Houghton City Manager Eric Waara said, “We will be taking out some more impediments to any future development. We’re going to have plenty of fire fighting capacity down on the waterfront, as well as being able to deliver water to any point down there. Certainly, going forward and fixing the sewers, there’s less of a chance that you’ll have to do repairs down there later, and you hate to do those things on an emergency basis, so once these new pipes are put in, we’ll be able to breathe a little easier for the next couple decades, hopefully.”
To help pay for the project, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation presented a check to the city, representing the proceeds from the Infrastructure Capacity Enhancement Grant.
The total cost of the project will be around $1 million, paid in part by the MEDC grant of $877,120, with the rest paid for by the city.
With so many benefits, the project is said to be a good investment by the state.
State Representative Scott Dianda said, “This is a great use of state resources because we are improving city water, city sewer and the fire protection for the city of Houghton. It’s a wonderful thing when we spend our tax money where it needs to go.”
Work on the project is expected to take place next summer.
