Leaders in the New Buffalo area are urging Berrien County to find some way to repair Harbor Country Drive this year.
New Buffalo Township Supervisor Michelle Heit addressed the Berrien County Board of Commissioners Thursday and said the road is in a bad state.
“It has been patched, but it’s still in terrible condition,” Heit said. “You really have to straddle the fog line to travel, and there’s a lot of people that walk back and forth in that area too.”
So, she said it’s a safety issue.
Heit said township residents have been asking questions. Many thought Harbor Country Drive would be on the Berrien County Road Department’s list of projects for this summer, but it’s not. She noted Managing Director Mark Heylicher did address a meeting of the township board this month, though.
“I do really appreciate that he did that because it was a fairly angry crowd. People don’t understand why it’s not getting done this year, and it was our understanding that it would be. But he did come explain to the board and the public the situation with funding and so on.”
And residents have had some questions.
“Holiday Drive is right off of Harbor Country Drive, and that is slated to be paved this summer. So it’ll be really difficult for people to understand why Harbor Country Drive isn’t getting paved when that road, which has much less travelers — a couple of hotels down there — is getting paved.“
Heit said Harbor Country Drive is the entrance to the city of New Buffalo, bringing people from I-94 into town. A traffic study found the road carried 13,850 vehicles in just the first weekend of May, a number that will only rise as the summer goes on.
Heit also noted New Buffalo Township has allocated substantial funds for work on its own roads this year, asking that the county make a commitment to the area as well.
“The township is funding $890,000 of road work, which is county infrastructure, and we’re proud to do so. And that really is one of the reasons why we opted in to allow marijuana dispensaries was for money for roads and that we committed all that money that we received last year towards roads. And this is a good chunk of what we’re receiving this year into county infrastructure. So I’m just asking if there’s anything that can be done.”
Berrien County Sheriff Chuck Heit also addressed commissioners asking that the road receive some attention at a previous meeting.
Commissioners didn’t respond to Supervisor Heit’s comments during the public portion of Thursday’s meeting.
