Beck Road widening meets resistance

Traffic backups are common these days on Beck Road between Six Mile and Eight Mile road. Photo by Bryan Mitchell

The Road More Traveled

Regional plans to widen Beck Road meet resistance in Northville

By Larry O’Connor

They are talking about the same road but two different worlds.

North of Eight Mile (or Baseline), Beck Road is a heavily traveled thoroughfare rife with commercial development that is teeming with economic potential.

South of Baseline, Beck shifts into a scenic residential stroll with homes and subdivisions lining the two-lane beltway, which runs adjacent to Maybury State Park and features rolling hills.

And residents say they want to keep it that way.

“Please do not destroy Northville Township’s character,” said Autumn Ridge Drive resident Don Paul, whose letter was read during a Northville Township special meeting Nov. 8 on the proposed widening of Beck Road.

Wixom and Novi city officials are lobbying for the 8.1-mile stretch to be increased to five lanes.

They’ve even adopted a marketing campaign, Beck to the Future, to champion the project, which has yet to be approved for funding and is not slated to begin until 2025 -- at the earliest.

A portion of the plan includes widening Beck Road from 11 Mile to Eight Mile in Novi, including a section shared with the city of Northville.

Northville Township residents who live along the Beck corridor between Six Mile and Eight Mile appear to favor a less-intrusive option, which would expand the county road to three lanes from its current two.

“I understand Wixom has a problem, I understand Novi has a problem,” said Larry Utter, who lives on Beck Road, between Six and Seven Mile. “As far as Northville Township is concerned, I’m not sure we have a problem.”

The proposed road widening speaks to a larger issue for Northville residents, who see the far-off down the road project work as another fight to maintain the area’s bucolic splendor amid rampant growth encroaching from all directions.

During the special meeting, they complained about traffic congestion, speeders and constant truck noise on the two-mile stretch of Beck Road, which eventually feeds into M-14 to the south.

Jerry Morris, a 47-year resident, described the harrowing left turns he has to make off Beck to reach his Maplebrook home due to impatient motorists flying up on his rear.

“They expect us to take that turn on two wheels,” Morris said.

The situation is no less distressing for pedestrians, said Rick O’Donnell, who lives on Curtis Road and likes to take walks with his wife. “We take our lives into our own hands when we step onto Beck Road,” O’Donnell said.

The incessant winding noise from semi-trailer diesel engines is also disrupting residents’ lives. Some say truck traffic is heard as early as 3 a.m.

“These trucks that ramble down the street are loaded and they are obnoxious,” said Wayne Seiler, who lives on Creekside Court but whose property fronts a portion of Beck Road. “It keeps you awake at night when they’re rambling down 45-50 miles an hour and all.

“When talking about widening … you’re putting these speeding trucks closer to the bike paths where our children are.”

OTHER OPTIONS

Recommendations from residents included enforcing the posted 45 mph speed limit and truck axle mandates as well as doing a comprehensive traffic study before putting a shovel into the ground.

Calls to pave Napier or Ridge roads and open another exit on M-14 drew the loudest applause in the packed township auditorium.

Township Supervisor Mark Abbo called the meeting to dispel rumors about the road proposal and seek resident input. Blue Heron, Stonewater and Fox Hollow subdivisions were among those represented.

The widening project is part of SEMCOG’s regional transportation plan and is estimated to start between 2025-34.

Wayne County, which owns the stretch of Beck Road between Six and Eight Mile, is also calling for a three-lane reconstruction with a centerleft turn lane. The bridge over Johnson Drain would also be replaced.

The township wants to add a non-motorized path as part of the $500,000 it has earmarked for such trails.

“We want to hear what our residents feel about that, but we hope that Wayne County will follow through on the plans to construct a three-lane corridor between Six and Eight Mile Road,” Abbo said before the meeting. “We would encourage Wayne County to do that. They control the roads.”

Another crucial factor in keeping the Northville-side of Beck Road to three lanes is the amount of available right of way.

About 66 feet of right of way — 33 feet on each side — is accessible, said Phil McGuire, project manager with Michael Baker International, an engineering consultant hired by the township to come with a conceptual design.

To expand further, the county would have to acquire property, which would be an expensive

and time-consuming process, up to 25 years, Abbo estimated.

“It’s a county road, the only thing that would make it different would lie with the county,” McGuire said. “It’s their road. To turn it into anything more than a threelane road, you need right of way.

“You have to purchase that and if people don’t want to sell it you have to go through condemnation (eminent domain).”

Maybury State Park, which is on the west side of Beck, between Seven and Eight Mile, would be a big hurdle in acquiring additional right of way for a four- or five-lane road.

“I’d hate to think how many years that would take,” McGuire said.

An aerial photo shows Beck Road between Six Mile and Eight Mile, where it is surrounded by woods and residential properties. Photo by Fred Shadko

SERIOUS ACCIDENTS

Beck Road’s expansion to five lanes would enhance traffic flow and safety, said Drew Benson, Wixom assistant city manager. Benson was joined by Wixom’s Department of Public Works director Tim Simka in touting the project at the special meeting.

The Beck Road Corridor — from Pontiac Trail to Six Mile — had 1,598 crashes between 2015-2019, resulting in two deaths and 12 serious injuries.

Traffic volumes are only expected to increase, Simka said.

On the stretch between Six and Seven Mile, 21,534 vehicles daily traveled on Beck Road in 2019, according to Michigan Department of Transportation figures. That is expected to increase by 5% to 24,031 in 20 years.

A Lane Call Analysis recommends roads with daily traffic volumes between 16,200-35,499 vehicles should be at least four lanes, according to figures on the Beck to the Future website.

Any efforts — namely adding a center turn lane between Six and Eight Mile — would alleviate traffic bottlenecks

and improve public safety, Northville Township Fire Chief Brent Siegel. Beck Road, between Five and Eight Mile, averages 100 traffic crashes a year, 59% of those rear-end collisions that often happen while vehicles are waiting to make a left turn. A center lane would reduce rear-end crashes by 80% for motorists making left-hand turns while cutting headon collisions by 50%, said McGuire, citing MDOT crash modification WHAT DO YOU THINK? factors. Do you think Beck Road should be The widened to three lanes, five lanes township fire or not at all? Please email your department opinions to Editor Kurt Kuban at also uses kurtkuban@thevillemagazine.com. Beck Road to transport an average of 487 people a year to Ascension Providence Novi at Beck and Grand River. “We have extended transport times due to traffic congestion on Beck and we are also impacted by the traffic while returning to the township,” Siegel said, “which keeps our emergency resources out of the community for a prolonged period of time.” The two-lane road and narrow shoulder increases response times and causes the road to be completely shut since there is no way to pass, Siegel said. The number of crashes is double toward Seven Mile and triple near Eight Mile compared to south of Six Mile, which is wider, the fire chief said. Catherine Czajkowski, who lives on Beck, just south of Eight Mile, offered empirical evidence. “I know that because they end up in my driveway,” Czajkowski said.

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