PICRC staff celebrate the 100th anniversary of the road commission in 2016.
Although Presque Isle County’s name is French for “almost an island,” the Presque Isle County Road Commission (PICRC) operates in a world of cooperation, not isolation.
In a county known for having the “ideal climate for hay fever sufferers,” two state parks, several large lakes and a 69-mile-long Lake Huron coastline, PICRC has used new road funding, grants and public-private partnerships to complete some of the much-needed road projects for the residents and tourists of Presque Isle.
“The new money has been very helpful,” said Jerry Smigelski, a 28-year PICRC employee and manager for the last 11 years. “But we have a long way to go on the roads. Like other counties we have cut back on personnel, services and equipment over the years. This year I was finally able to add an additional employee in one of my garages. “
PICRC is featured in the Fall 2019 edition of Crossroads, the quarterly journal of the County Road Association (CRA) of Michigan.
New road funding has allowed PICRC to increase its township road funding match by 10 percent, purchase new trucks and begin sealcoating primary roads in the county.
However, PICRC still faces funding challenges, which includes finding the dollars to replace its three 50-year-old buildings in Roger City, Onaway and Posen.
“All three of our buildings were former MDOT properties,” Smigelski said. “We have updated the heat and lighting, but they are still very old, and we need to either upgrade or replace them.”
While facing these challenges, PICRC is also adopting efficient measures to get more work done with limited funds including maintaining roads for the village of Posen; and making group material purchases with Alpena and Cheboygan counties plus the cities of Onaway and Rogers City.
PICRC has also taken advantage of grants. It has been the recipient of the MDOT Transportation Economic Development Fund (TEDF) grant to improve 3.24 miles of county roads in the “high wire” corridor that accommodates Moran Iron Works, the Onaway-based international metal fabricator. PICRC also received a FEMA Pre-emptive Grant to replace three 60-year-old rusting, side-by-side steel culverts with a 32-foot bridge around Grand Lake.