Ironwood Township looks to coming road repairs

IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP - After a millage renewal request was approved by Ironwood Township residents Tuesday, town officials are preparing to start road construction projects.

In 2010, the Ironwood Township Board of Trustees approved a five-year road plan, listing roads needing updates. Since that time, Hannu and Nylund roads were worked on, but funding was limited, leaving other projects left undone.

To help alleviate budget constraints, the board put a millage request on the ballot for Tuesday's election. The request was to renew 1 mill that expired for the fire truck and use it strictly for the purpose of maintaining township roads.

Residents passed the referendum 57 percent to 43 percent.

The levy, from 2014 to 2018, is expected to raise $79,000 in the first year. According to treasurer Jyl Olson-DeRosso, the township will begin collecting the funding on Dec. 1 as part of the winter taxes.

"Most people won't even notice the difference in their taxes because it is replacing the expiring mill from the fire truck," Olson-DeRosso said.

Asked what road is at the top of the list, Olson-DeRosso said Vanderhagen Road, after it was passed over multiple times because of a lack of funds.

"It was on the list in 2011 and 2012, with a plan to do 2.5 miles of construction," Olson-DeRosso said. "However, budgetary constraints forced us to put it off."

She said the township is planning on incorporating the Gogebic County Road Commission's PASER system (pavement surface evaluation and rating). Every road in Gogebic County has been ranked by pavement condition, and the township board will use the ranking to figure out what roads need to be dealt with next.

With funding soon coming in, Olson-DeRosso said the township can move forward with projects.

"We were thrilled to see that it passed," she said. "It will allow us to move forward much faster at keeping up the roads. It's going to keep our township moving forward and our roads in decent shape."