LANSING, MI (WSYM) — An expensive drain project in Mid-Michigan is growing.
The work on the Montgomery Drain itself is still estimated to cost $35 million, but the drain commissioner is asking the county for full faith and credit to borrow a total of $56 million for the entire job.
The rest of the money will be spent on projects for the City of Lansing and MDOT.
"The base cost of the project plus the MDOT project and the City of Lansing project is what gets us to that $56 [million]," said Ingham County Commissioner Bryan Crenshaw.
While crews have the ground torn up, Lansing wants to add sanitary sewer and road work in the Frandora Hills subdivison. Lansing Public Works director Andy Kilpatrick says taxpayers won't be paying extra for that.
"Because of the size of the project and coordination, we're combining it with this project and then when we get the bill, we'll pay the portion with the funds we would have normally used if it had been a city project," said Kilpatrick.
Lansing, East Lansing, Lansing Township, Ingham county and MDOT are collectively paying for the project, with Lansing footing 64% of the drain project bill over the next 30 years. County Drain Commissioner Pat Lindemann says it could cost less but bids have not been finalized yet.
The Ingham County Board of Commissioners will meet Tuesday, June 9 at 6:30 p.m. to vote on whether or not to borrow the money.
