FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – Construction begins on Orchard Lake Road between 13 Mile and 14 Mile roads in Farmington Hills on Monday.
The northbound lanes of Orchard Lake Road will be closed between 13 Mile and 14 Mile roads and the southbound side will go down to two lanes. 14 Mile Road will be closed between Farmington and Orchard Lake roads.
The 14 Mile Road construction is a city project and the Orchard Lake Road construction is being done through the county. The Road Commission for Oakland County said it’s unfortunate the closures are happening at the same time, but the repairs are necessary.
- The northbound lanes of Orchard Lake Road will be closed between 13 and 14 Mile roads and two southbound lanes will be open.
- 14 Mile Road will be closed between Farmington Road and Orchard Lake Road.
- The projects are scheduled to end in November.
Mike Parashos owns the Sunrise Cafe in Farmington Hills.
“It’s going to hit us hard with the customers that have a half hour, hour for lunch. They’re not going to want to wait in that backup. So they’re going to go somewhere outside of, you know, 15 Mile or 12 Mile and that’s where we’re gonna miss those customers,” Parashos said. “So traffic’s bad enough as it is, but with this closure it’s gonna really back it up because they closed off 14 Mile also.”
Craig Bryson is the communications manager with the Road Commission for Oakland County.
“We also have federal funding paying the majority of the cost of this project. If we don’t use it this year, we lose that federal funding,” Bryson said.
The construction is expected to last until November.
The war in Ukraine is also affecting businesses like the Sunrise Cafe.
“Really driving up prices. It’s, it’s really tough. Everything went up. I mean, everything, from you know, anything from the condiments to the meats,” Parashos said.
Parashos is confident that his loyal customers will get them through it.
“They’re great to us. You know, everybody supports us. They were supporting us during COVID and I think they’ll support us -- you know -- it’ll take a little extra time to go around the miles to come here,” Parashos said.
Another concern the owners have about the construction is the access to their patio. They said in the summer the area sits around 15 people at a time, but they fear with loud machinery people will opt to go somewhere else.
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