Our goal here at the Ottawa County Road Commission is to make sure residents are aware of all policies in place regarding roads and their right of ways, and why these policies are needed.

One policy we get asked about quite frequently is our driveway surface policy.

This policy covers the installation of all new driveways or any work on existing driveways within the road right of way. It was developed to provide the most efficient and cost-effective process for road improvement projects.

Road improvement projects that occur on roads without an asphalt or concrete curb:

These road projects result in the restoration of the adjacent driveways in order to match the new road elevation.  Therefore, the policy does not permit the placement of a concrete driveway approach for any new or existing driveways being replaced or restored.

Roads that have an asphalt or concrete curb:

These roads typically do not see any change in elevation during road improvement projects. As a result, concrete driveways are permitted on curbed roads because restoration on adjacent driveways is not necessary.

The OCRC's driveway surface policy was developed based on the following:

• It takes much longer to saw cut, excavate, and remove concrete driveways that need adjusting versus the time it takes to mill an asphalt driveway.
• In order to maintain access for the property owner, concrete driveways are often required to be poured half width at a time, where asphalt can be placed the full driveway width.
• Concrete can take up to 28 days to fully cure resulting in project delays, where asphalt can be driven on the same day.
• In some cases, asphalt driveways can be placed at the same time the contractor is paving the lane of the road.

In fact, in 2019, the Ottawa County Road Commission paid almost $150,000 extra in project costs to remove concrete driveway approaches and restore them with HMA (refer to graphic to the right).

The OCRC could instead use that $150,000 to implement one of a variety of other improvements, including gravel road surfacing, cape seal surfacing, culvert replacement, chip seal, and more.

Having rigid concrete driveways located in the shoulder of the road can pose safety risks to our maintenance staff and cause equipment damage. Our operators need to grade shoulders in the summer and plow in the winter.

Striking a rigid concrete driveway can have the same effect on our vehicles as striking snow that is blown/shoveled back into the street. Flexible asphalt driveways minimize impacts to both our drivers and equipment.

One of the more common service calls we receive here at the Ottawa County Road Commission and online on our Facebook page is in reference to the maintenance and repair of railroad crossings.

While it may seem like this would be something that the OCRC would be responsible for, the Road Commission does not maintain railroad crossings, nor does it have any authoritative control or jurisdiction governing them. 

Instead, it is the railroad company that owns the track that has the exclusive responsibility of the right of way at their rail crossings.

Need help identifying which railroad is responsible for a particular crossing? There is usually a small metal placard located on the railroad crossing sign adjacent to the track with the appropriate railroad company information.

And should you have safety concerns regarding crossing surface conditions, these issues can be addressed by contacting one of the following:

CSX Railroad:
Covers South of Fillmore Street to the Allegan County line.

For railroad EMERGENCIES call (800)-232-0144.

Michigan Shore Railroad: 
Covers North of Fillmore Street to the Muskegon County line.

For railroad EMERGENCIES call (866)-527-3499.

Any issue or incident that risks the safety of any person should be reported immediately to 911. Be prepared to tell the emergency dispatcher your name, location and what you observed.