Beck Road widening project becoming a reality with new federal funding sources

An 8-mile stretch of Beck Road between Wixom and Northville Township may soon be transformed thanks to the availability of new federal funding sources.

The Beck Road Business Corridor Project involves the widening of the roadway from the current two or three-lane configuration to either four or five lanes with an boulevard constructed in some sections of the project to improve traffic flow​, improve safety, and increase the quality of life in the region. Communities impacted include Wixom, Novi, Northville, and Northville Township.

The project, which also includes the construction of an overpass over the CSX-owned and Lake State Railway operated railroad tracks in Wixom, has been long-planned in Wixom and Novi, but new sources of federal funding are making the project seem more realistic in the not so distant future, according to officials in both communities.

As of now, nearly $50 million in federal grants and appropriations have been applied for by the cities of Wixom and Novi and requested by U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Rochester Hills). On July 12, the two cities submitted a $25 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant application through the U.S. Department of Transportation while Stevens has already secured around $23 million for the project through the INVEST Act ($18.7 million) to separate the railroad crossing in Wixom and another $4.6 million in Community Project Funding requests that have been approved by the House Appropriations Committee.

Larkin Parker, spokesperson for Rep. Stevens, told The Oakland Press that she expects the U.S. Senate to approve both appropriations.