The $1.8 Million Driveway at Taxpayer Expense

Editor:

The City of Hancock is moving forward with constructing a road on a narrow easement between the DNR trail and the PLCA garages on the West end of Navy Street. The construction plans viewed by condo co-owners and townhouse residents showed a vertical, steel piling wall that would be used as a retaining wall for $750,000. That is a totally unacceptable retaining wall and will result in failure. The second alternative is an 18′ high concrete vertical retaining wall built without being tied into the 30-45 degree bank for an estimated cost of $1.8 million. How is this even safe without substantial tiebacks?

These are taxpayer dollars with a token return on investment from building the road. Why not invest in downtown redevelopment? There is a significant possibility that the ATV/UTV/Snowmobile trail could possibly be compromised during a heavy rain in the construction of the road. The City of Hancock cannot guarantee that a mud slide would not push our garages into the condo building and perhaps into the lake. Everyone probably remembers the rains on the evening of June 18, 2018, when there were significant mud slides in Lake Linden, Ripley, and on the Houghton Canal Road. The failure of Mill Road, Coles Creek, Memorial Drive (formerly Van Orden’s Hill) and Sharon Avenue are indications of engineering failures.

There is also significant concern from a prominent professional licensed engineer regarding the City’s plan to cut back the hill and construct a 17′ concrete retaining wall. Retaining structures of this height fall into a category that requires detailed geotechnical and structural evaluation to ensure long-term stability and safety. The engineer who designed the repair for Memorial Drive washout came to our condo and agreed that the 18′ vertical wall proposed to support the grade behind our garages in the UPEA plans needs to be anchored at a very costly price.

To summarize these problems:

Risk of Navy Street Expansion washing out and placing residents and property at in harm’s way–possibly losing the DNR ATV/UTV roadbed

No City agreement with the condo association and townhouses on road structure

Funding of project should be focused on downtown development

Please contact the City of Hancock Manager, City of Hancock Mayor, and City of Hancock Council, Planning Commission, and Downtown Development Authority members, and express your concerns.

The City of Hancock needs to work with the condo association, townhouse residents, and all residents of Hancock to find a solution.

Glenn Bugni

Hancock