Pontiac road a mess after crews take hiatus

PONTIAC, Mich. (WJBK) - Things are so bad on one Pontiac Street that some drivers cut across parking lots at times, just to get to their homes.

"They are very dangerous for cars coming up and down here," said Katrina McDonald. "There's too many holes around here."

The rocky, chewed up stretch of Saginaw Street in Pontiac has become a bane to people living near it and those who drive on it. The rough stretch between Woodward and Montcalm is part of an effort to shore up infrastructure.

"They have all the roads closed off, you have someone coming over or if you are trying to leave you have to navigate through a war zone," said Michael Hudkins.

And cars are casualties.

"The streets are so bad we have people going over the curbs, we've had five or 10 blown out tires," said McDonald. "It's been like this since May."

That was when the project came to a screeching halt.  Construction crews ran into a number of issues that led to a month and a half hiatus according to Pontiac Mayor Deirdre Waterman.

"The main participants in this repair are MDOT as well as WRC which covers all the water mains in the city of Pontiac and water main repairs. There was some problems with jurisdiction over some of the railroad ties that were discovered."

Waterman says things are just about back on track now.  Prep work is underway and additional crews are on board to speed up the project.

"I would tell them to get something done with these streets, like ASAP," McDonald said. "They are too dangerous."

"This has gone on way too long and it has to be rectified immediately," said Hudkins. "

Anyone traveling this road will need to pack patience -a lot of it. The work there won't be done until October.