Benzie County Road Commission

10/05/2026

Team Elmer's is back on Pioneer today, stay safe!

URGENT UPDATE — PIONEER ROAD

Good morning, Benzie County!

Elmer’s will be paving the shoulders on Pioneer Road from Goose Road to Homestead Road today.

Please be prepared for traffic control, heavy equipment, and a large number of workers in the area. Traffic will be impacted throughout the paving operation.

If possible, please avoid this area today and use an alternate route. If you must travel through the work zone, slow down, follow the traffic control, and use extreme caution.

Please give our crews and Elmer’s crews plenty of room to work safely.

Thank you, Benzie County!

10/02/2026

URGENT UPDATE — PIONEER ROAD

Good morning, Benzie County!

Elmer’s will be paving the shoulders on Pioneer Road from Goose Road to Homestead Road today.

Please be prepared for traffic control, heavy equipment, and a large number of workers in the area. Traffic will be impacted throughout the paving operation.

If possible, please avoid this area today and use an alternate route. If you must travel through the work zone, slow down, follow the traffic control, and use extreme caution.

Please give our crews and Elmer’s crews plenty of room to work safely.

Thank you, Benzie County!

10/01/2026

Good morning, Benzie County!

The rain is changing things up a little today. The Pioneer Road paving operation has been pushed from today to tomorrow due to the weather.

The rain has also put a temporary halt to our King Road bridge deck replacement, as we need dry conditions to complete the welding work. We’ll get back at it as soon as conditions allow.

In the meantime, our crews are staying busy across the county. Today we have crews working on spillways, grading seasonal roads, hauling pit run, and the mowing crews are back out making their rounds. Our skip loaders are also out cleaning weeps and working on drainage.

We’ll keep everyone updated as the weather and projects progress.

Please slow down, use caution around our crews, and give them plenty of room to work safely.

Thank you, Benzie County!

09/28/2026

Good morning!

Today we are beginning an emergency bridge deck replacement on King Road between CR-669 and Wolf Road.

The bridge will be closed to vehicle traffic while the work is underway. We will be working with fishermen in the area to allow them to safely pass underneath the bridge.

We anticipate having the bridge work wrapped up by next week Friday, but I’ll keep everyone updated as the project progresses. I’ll also get some pictures later today to share with everyone.

Pioneer Road Update:
Paving on Pioneer Road is currently anticipated to begin Wednesday. Our crew is out there today cutting down the existing shoulders to make room for the new paved shoulders before the final roadway overlay.

Pioneer Road will be reduced to one lane during this work, with traffic control in place.

Please use extra caution in both work areas, slow down, follow the signs and traffic control, and give our crews plenty of room to work safely.

Thank you!

09/24/2026

Good morning, Benzie County!

We have another busy day across the county as we continue working through our fall projects.

Today, one crew is prepping the culvert replacement we completed on M-22 North between Aral Road and Manning Road for Molon to come in and pave the area back in.

Another crew is prepping the Nichols Road/Lincoln Road approach for Molon to pave back in as well.

Our excavator crew is continuing the major ditching project on Spring Valley Road, both mowing crews are back out making their rounds, and both graders are out maintaining our gravel roads.

A reminder that Elmer’s will be here next week to begin paving on Pioneer Road between Goose Road and Homestead Road. Please use caution in the area and watch for traffic control as work gets underway.

The video is from yesterday, making a couple of trips to Kasson Sand & Gravel to pick up 6A drain stone for the new facility site.

Also, a reminder that our Road Commission Board meeting is today at 9:30 AM.

09/23/2026

Good morning, Benzie County!

We have both graders and both skip loaders out working across the county today.

We are also kicking off our ditching project on Spring Valley Road as we continue working to improve drainage and maintain the roadway.

We just received word from Elmer’s that the Pioneer Road project will most likely begin Wednesday or Thursday of next week. Give ’Em a Brake will be out today installing signs, and our crew is putting stations in place to prepare for the work.

Monday and Tuesday of next week, our crews will be cutting down the existing shoulders and preparing the roadway to make room for the new asphalt. During this work, traffic control will be in place and the road will be reduced to one lane.

Please slow down, follow the signs and traffic control, and give our crews plenty of room to work safely.

Thank you, Benzie County!

09/22/2026

Good morning, Benzie County!

As we head into fall, we still have a pretty long list of projects to complete before the snow flies. Here’s a look at what’s still on our plate:

-King Road bridge deck replacement
-Nichols Road/Lincoln Road repairs
-Pioneer Road paving from Goose Road to Homestead Road — anticipated to begin in approximately 2–3 weeks
-Shoulder restoration/ paving at the recent culvert replacement on M-22
-Lincoln Road relocation onto the centerline
-Carmean Road bridge reinforcement
-A LOT of gravel road grading
-Approximately half of the county still left to mow
-US-31 at the Beulah Bridge — milling, waterproof membrane -installation, and repaving
-Guardrail replacements at various locations
-Edge-rut repairs throughout the county
-Major ditching work on Spring Valley Road
-Tree removal at the Lake Ann Road/Cedar Run Road and Cedar Run Road/Reynolds Road intersections
-And, of course, whatever else pops up along the way!

It’s going to be a busy fall as we make one big final push to get as much work completed as possible before winter arrives.

09/18/2026

Good morning, Benzie County!

Our crew is currently working on a concrete culvert replacement along M-22 near the Leelanau County line, just south of Manning Road and north of Aral.

M-22 is currently reduced to one lane with temporary traffic signals in place. Our plan is to have the road fully reopened by the end of the day.

Elsewhere around the county, our parks employee is out maintaining the MDOT roadside parks, a skip loader is working on repairing edge ruts, and both graders are back out maintaining our gravel roads.

A reminder that Ironman is taking place this weekend. Please be alert for increased traffic, cyclists, and event-related activity throughout the county.

Thank you, and please slow down and use caution around our crews and work zones!

09/16/2026

Good morning, Benzie County!

We’re starting the day with CPR training for our crew members before heading back out into the county.

Our graders are heading back out to maintain gravel roads, the mowing crews are getting back to their routes, and a small crew is heading to M-22 North to begin preparing for an upcoming culvert replacement.

Another busy day keeping things moving across Benzie County!

As always, please slow down, stay alert, and give our crews plenty of room to work safely.

Thank you, Benzie County!

09/15/2026

Good morning, Benzie County!

Sorry for being a little quiet over the past couple weeks. Things have been extremely busy, but I wanted to provide a few project updates.

Fahrner has officially completed this year’s chipseal work, and PK Contracting is wrapping up the second round of pavement markings this week. They are also finishing rumble strips on various roads, along with crosswalk markings in the Village of Lake Ann.

We held our preconstruction meeting for the Pioneer Road project. Elmer’s is currently looking to begin during the first week of October. Their work will include paving the shoulders and completing the final overlay on the roadway.

Following that, they will need to mill the Beulah Bridge, install a waterproof membrane, and repave the bridge deck. That work is currently anticipated for late October.

The Ironman is this weekend, so please be aware of increased traffic, cyclists, and event activity throughout the county.

Our BCRC crews are staying busy working on seasonal roads, chipping downed trees, and repairing edge ruts.

At the new facility site, AJ’s Excavating has taken over operations and may begin digging for the building footings as early as the end of this week.

Video is from earlier this summer placing a culvert on Bixler Rd.

Thank you for your patience and continued support, Benzie County!