Berrien County has reached an agreement with the Southwest Michigan Regional Airport to help keep Euclid Avenue clear for traffic during the winter after an issue was brought to the county’s attention by New Heights CCDA.
New Heights Director Chris Britton tells us the organization runs an advisory group called the Community Development Council to help identify and address issues of concern in the Benton Heights area. A few years ago, the council began discussing problems with Euclid Avenue by the airport.
“We had a really bad snowstorm, and Euclid was closed for days,” Britton said. “They were having to pull cars out with excavators and things like that. And the Community Development Council in one of our meetings said, ‘Hey, this is really bad, because the only other way to get back here is a 20-minute drive around.'”
The snow was drifting off the airport property and into the road. Britton said that made residents worry about reaching their homes and church. He began by reaching out to the airport, which led to talks with the Berrien County Road Department.
“As we kind of pushed and poked and prodded on this a little bit, we realized like, okay, we just need to get all these people together in the room. And when we did, certainly there was a willingness from everybody to work together. The crux of the issue was just getting everyone together.”
The airport and the county have now agreed to construct a temporary snow berm along the western side of the airport’s property along Euclid Avenue during the winter to stop more snow from blowing into the road. The road department will be responsible for it. The Berrien County Board of Commissioners on Thursday formally approved the agreement.
Britton says this episode shows how a difference can be m
