News and Updates

🚧 Shelby Road Construction Update – 2024 & 2025 Recap 🚧

As the 2025 road construction season comes to a close, we want to take a moment to reflect on the tremendous progress in the quality of roads in our Shelby community thanks to the efforts of Shelby Township, the Oceana County Road Commission, the Michigan Department of Transportation, and the Village of Shelby. Infrastructure improvements are a long-term investment in our community’s safety, mobility, and quality of life — and we’re proud of what’s been accomplished.

This post is highlighting the road work completed in the past two years in the Village Limits:

🛣️ Road Work Completed in the Village Limits

Shelby has approximately 14 miles of roads within the village limits:

• 6 miles of Major Streets (e.g., State, Sixth, Ferry, First)
• 8 miles of Local Streets (e.g., Cherry, Runner, Aspen Hill, Elliott)

These classifications matter because Major and Local Streets are funded from different sources, and each has its own budget and maintenance strategy.

🔨 Construction Totals:

• 2024: 2.9 miles of road were rebuilt using mill & fill or crush & shape methods.
• 2025: 2.2 miles of road were rebuilt using the same methods.
• 2025 Maintenance: An additional 5 miles of road received surface maintenance including chip seal, crack pour, Durapatch, and fog seal.

That’s a total of 10 miles of road work completed in just two years — covering over 70% of the village’s road network!

💡 What Do These Methods Mean?

• Mill & Fill: The top 1.5 inches of asphalt are removed and replaced with new asphalt. This is a cost-effective way to extend the life of a road.
• Crush & Shape: The entire asphalt surface is removed, the base is reshaped, and a new 3″–4″ asphalt surface is laid. This is a more intensive and longer-lasting repair.

💰 Estimated Costs:

• Mill & Fill: $240,000–$315,000 per mile (depending on road width)
• Crush & Shape: $370,000–$500,000 per mile (depending on depth and width)

📊 Funding Breakdown:

Shelby’s road work is funded through:

• State of Michigan road funding
• A local road millage of 4.1 mills

Annual construction and maintenance budgets:

• Major Streets: ~$200,000/year
• Local Streets: ~$170,000/year

🧭 What’s Next?

We know that some streets are still in rough shape, and we want to assure residents that we haven’t forgotten about you. Roads are prioritized based on:

1. Available funding
2. Condition of the roads
3. Coordination with underground utility work (e.g., water, sewer, storm drains)

We aim to be strategic and cost-effective — ensuring that when a road is rebuilt, it won’t need to be torn up again for underground repairs shortly after.

Thank you for your continued patience and support as we work to improve Shelby’s infrastructure. Your tax dollars are hard at work making Shelby well-maintained and appealing.