Whitehall Has Already Picked the Next Streets It Will Dig Up, and Spring Is When It Starts

The Whitehall City Council voted unanimously on Oct. 13 to award a $3,843,933 contract to rebuild Muskegon Avenue and Livingston Street. Crews are expected to start in spring 2027. The council picked these streets mostly for what runs under them: aging water main, storm sewer and lead service lines that go into the houses on these blocks.

That way of choosing explains the whole program. It explains why a short stretch of Lake Street got a quick resurfacing this spring while the blocks around Muskegon Avenue are getting a full reconstruction. It also explains why some of the 2027 work could still change after the contract award.

The Pipes Pick the Street

At a public town hall in July, City Manager Dan Tavernier explained how Whitehall ranks its roads, as CatchMark Community reported. The city starts with PASER ratings, the statewide pavement-condition scores. It then weighs those scores against underground utility needs, lead service line replacements, traffic patterns and the money available. The goal is to time each project so a street gets rebuilt once and doesn't have to be dug up again later for utility work.

Tavernier said it plainly before the October vote, according to The Oceana Echo:

"This project represents exactly what we've been working toward - addressing aging infrastructure in a coordinated matter instead of repeatedly tearing up the same streets."

Whitehall has a lot of road left to cover. The city's 2025 Capital Improvement Plan estimated that 16.6 miles of streets still needed reconstruction. The six-year list includes South Lake Street, north and south Livingston Street, Muskegon Avenue and Alice Street. With that much to do, the city can't rebuild a street just because it looks rough. Streets where the pipes also need work move to the top of the list.

Which Blocks Are in the 2027 Project

The city's draft budget for fiscal year 2026–27 lists three segments.

This is a full reconstruction, not a resurfacing. The Oceana Echo reported that the project includes a new water main, removal and replacement of lead water service lines, new storm drainage and sewer upgrades along with the road itself. When the council first approved both projects in February, it called them a "critical need," and new sidewalks were part of the plan.

The budget shows where most of the money goes. It sets aside $1,754,400 for the Muskegon and Livingston water mains alone. The contractor is Jackson-Merkey Contractors of Muskegon, which came in as the lowest qualified bidder. Whitehall Department of Public Works Director Don Bond told the council the city has worked with the company before and gotten good results.

Engineers from Prein&Newhof said construction will follow the school calendar to limit disruption near Whitehall schools. They also said some trees may have to come down where they conflict with underground utilities, and replacement trees are part of the plan.

What Comes Out of the Ground

For many homeowners on these blocks, the most important part of the project is the lead line replacement. Prein&Newhof engineers said every lead or galvanized service line found in the project areas will be replaced all the way into the home at no cost to the property owner. The new lines will be copper and PEX.

The citywide numbers show how big that job is. Whitehall's 2025 Annual Water Quality Report counts 1,439 service lines in total:

• 232 lead
• 303 galvanized
• 904 non-lead
• 0 of unknown material

That means 535 lines, a bit more than a third of the system, are lead or galvanized. Tavernier described replacing them as one of the city's long-term priorities, with Michigan's 2037 deadline for lead line replacement ahead. Bundling replacements into street reconstruction lets the city do that work while the road is already open.

The program is described here as general information, so homeowners who want details for their own address should contact the Whitehall Department of Public Works through the city's documents and contacts page.

Why Lake Street Got a Lighter Fix This Year

Lake Street shows how the system works in practice. In March, the council awarded Michigan Paving $118,675 to mill and resurface 1,650 feet of northern Lake Street, from Thompson Street to the trestle bridge. City minutes showed the work finished by May 12. That comes to about $72 a foot for new pavement over pipes that didn't need replacing yet.

Southern Lake Street is a different case. It is tied to a lift station project and is grouped with the major infrastructure work expected to start in spring 2027. The 2026–27 budget sets aside $1,715,500 for Lake Street plus $121,500 for engineering, and a separate bond-funded sewer transfer covers the Lake Street force main and lift station. So the same street name has two very different price tags, and the difference comes from what is underground.

The same pattern shows up across the 2026 work. Industrial Park roads got a $282,675 mill-and-fill, which was complete by May 12. A $1,172,100 crush-and-reshape package for the north side covered Elizabeth, Franklin, Covell, East River, River, Baldwin and Hanson streets. Streets with sound pipes got surface work. Muskegon Avenue and Livingston Street, where the water mains are also being replaced, got the multimillion-dollar contract.

The Parts of the Project That Can Still Change

The contract has been awarded, but its final scope isn't settled. The council authorized a 10% contingency of $384,393, which brings the maximum spending to $4,228,326. Tavernier can approve change orders up to that cap after consulting the project engineer. Three possible additions were named:

1. Resurfacing the rest of Gibbs Street
2. Replacing about 12 more lead service lines
3. Eliminating about 11,300 feet of existing six-inch water main on Lewis Street, east of Livingston

According to the White Lake Beacon, anything above the cap would need another council vote. All three possible additions involve pipes or are next to pipe work, which fits how the city has been choosing projects.

Part of the project could also be pushed back. About 1,300 feet of Livingston may move to the 2027–28 fiscal year if the city doesn't get enough grant funding to finish everything at once. The Oceana Echo reported that Tavernier is optimistic the full project will be paid for this fiscal year.

The program is backed by an $8.5 million general obligation bond issue that the city authorized in 2025. It is set to be repaid over 10 years, and the Tax Increment Finance Authority and Local Development Finance Authority have agreed to help repay it, according to The Oceana Echo's coverage of the July town hall. At the town hall, Tavernier said waiting usually costs more than the interest on the bond. "Our costs are not going down," he told residents.

The Work Between Now and Spring

Some other projects will run before the spring 2027 start.

The bridge work is state-run. MDOT's $2.8 million project on the US-31 bridges over Walsh Road and Colby Street began Sept. 8, and MDOT estimated it would finish in mid-November 2026. The traffic plan closed Walsh Road under US-31 and the northbound Exit 128 ramp to Colby Street, and it blocked left turns from southbound US-31 onto Colby.

Benston Road may be next. On Oct. 8, the council committed up to $600,000 as the city's match for a federal PROTECT grant application to rebuild 0.9 miles of Benston Road and add stormwater work. That is another project where drainage is part of the reason.

Gee Park is getting new equipment. The 1.6-acre neighborhood park at 1500 Gee Street is getting a $120,295 playground from Mid-States, a company based in Pataskala, Ohio. The city's goal is to improve one public park each year. It chose the Gee Park playground after surveying residents about what the park needed.

Do you own a home on Muskegon Avenue, Livingston Street or Elliot Street and wonder how a 2027 reconstruction fits with a sale or purchase you're planning? Gabriela Peterson can go over your block's timeline with you and help you plan a listing around construction season. Schedule your free consultation.