Garfield Township Approves South Airport Sewer Work, Townline Rezoning, Trail Projects
Drivers experiencing backups on South Airport Road this week should brace for more work ahead this fall.
Traffic has been snarled in the corridor this week due to an eastbound lane closure near Logan’s Landing, where the Grand Traverse County Road Commission is performing slope stabilization and culvert armoring work near the Boardman River. That work is expected to continue for another week.
More work is on deck beyond that. Garfield Township trustees Tuesday approved a $234,100 contract with Insituform to repair 1,000 feet of gravity sewer main near the South Airport/Cass intersection that failed twice over the past year. The affected section of clay pipe dates back to the 1970s and has been difficult to address due to the numerous traffic and utility conflicts at the intersection. The pipe bursting and slip lining repair project planned this fall will offer a “permanent” solution that will increase the main’s capacity and waterproof the surrounding manholes, according to Jennifer Graham of Gourdie Fraser, the township’s engineer.
Trustees paid about $17,000 extra to expedite the project, with a required completion date of December 15 instead of May 1. “I don’t want to take a chance on this thing failing again…so it’s money well spent,” said Township Supervisor Joe McManus. He said internal estimates had put the project at $350,000, so staff were pleased with the bid rate.
A December 15 completion date is attached to another sewer project out to bid in Garfield Township: the replacement of a sewer force main that recently cracked near Logan’s Landing, leaking sewage into the surrounding area. Approximately 1,400 feet of pipe will need to be replaced stretching from near Logan's Landing up the hill to the Park Drive/South Airport intersection.
Trustees in September approved nearly $187,000 in engineering work for the project, with the township set to open repair bids on October 20. The township previously estimated the total project could cost over $1.6 million. Knowing that the South Airport Road crossing over the Boardman River will likely be reconstructed in the future, McManus said staff did their best to estimate where abutments for a future bridge might go to align those with the pipe work.
The compressed timeline to get both projects done by December 15 means the repairs will likely overlap. How exactly that will impact traffic in the South Airport Road corridor is still being determined. “We anticipate both projects starting around the same time near the end of October,” Township Manager Chris Barsheff tells The Ticker. “Each project has anticipated lane closures, but we won't know to what extent until we attend pre-construction meetings in the near future.”
Sewer and water work is likely to be an ongoing high expense in Garfield Township, as it is in the City of Traverse City, East Bay Township, and other communities working to update their aging infrastructure. Trustees approved a new capital improvement plan (CIP) Tuesday for 2027-2032, which outlines major improvement projects planned for Garfield Township over the next five years. In 2027 alone, over $20 million in water and sewer projects are outlined in the CIP – a figure that climbs to $37.3 million by 2032.
In other Garfield Township news…
> Trustees Tuesday approved rezoning nine parcels totaling 8.65 acres at the southwest corner of South Airport and Townline roads from R-1 (One-Family Residential) and R-3 (Multi-Family Residential) to MU-S (Mixed Use Suburban). MU-S is a relatively new zoning district in Garfield Township and will allow more commercial uses at the site.
Township Planning Director John Sych noted that some more “intensive” uses like gas stations and drive-thrus are not permitted. However, the rezoning would accommodate plans that developers Wayne Kiley and Rob Mead – operating as R&W Enterprises LLC – have described to serve Cherry Capital Airport across the street, including a potential hotel for business travelers and/or a sit-down restaurant.
> Trustees approved two trail-related projects Tuesday. One is working to repair the Boardman Valley Nature Preserve Trail near the South YMCA, which was significantly damaged during the spring flooding. The eight-foot-wide gravel trail is approximately 800 feet long. Barsheff said the trail project was bundled with some other parks-related repairs – including at the Red Drive trailhead and the Boardman Valley pickleball courts – to reach a minimum funding threshold for FEMA reimbursement for flood recovery. The trail reconstruction is estimated at $16,500 but actual costs will be determined through an RFP, which trustees authorized Barsheff to issue and then bring back a contract for approval.
Trustees also approved a change order to an accessible trail project on the northern part of the Grand Traverse Commons Natural Area. Construction on that new trail loop, which is being largely funded by a DNR Trust Fund grant, started Monday and will include trail surface improvements, widening, boardwalks, bridges, and erosion controls. Work is starting at Red Drive and proceeding to Old Orchard Trail (Phase 1), then will continue from Old Orchard Trail to North Long Lake Road (Phase 2). Partial trail closures will occur during the construction work.
The change order reflected rising costs due to the “volatile commodities market and tariffs,” resulting in a price increase for the boardwalk system of just over $26,000. The boardwalk was slightly narrowed from its originally planned width of ten feet to eight feet to reduce expenses, and some materials won’t be delivered for several months. Therefore, while most of the construction will wrap up in December, completion of some boardwalks and bridges is not expected until spring, according to Barsheff.