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Cottonwood Drive construction causes concern for community

Once this project is complete, it's supposed to improve traffic and safety conditions but right now it has neighbors concerned of just that.

GEORGETOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Road construction on one of Ottawa County's busiest roads is leaving some neighbors in the area frustrated.

Road work on Cottonwood Drive north and south of Baldwin Street began last week and it already has many in the area coming forward with concerns.

"My family alone we've nearly avoided five head-on collisions in two days," Jeannie Dauber, a resident that lives off of Cottonwood Drive in Georgetown Township said.

Dauber told 13 On Your Side the lack of guidance on the road has some cars on the wrong side of it.

Currently a portion of Cottonwood Drive is gravel, Dauber tells 13 On Your Side some are driving on the opposite side of the road to avoid the rocky surface.

"People don't want to drive on that messed up gravel road so they are driving on the paved road heading in this [south] direction so any of us driving in this [north] direction it's a near head-on collision."

The Ottawa County Sheriff's Office says they've only had one crash in the area since the construction started and it wasn't a head-on collision. With that said, they have given out a number of traffic citations for those driving through the construction and even for some driving on the wrong side of the road.

"Until they clarify the communication or make this [Cottonwood Drive] a two lane road, we're afraid to leave our neighborhoods because we might get hit head-on," Dauber said.

The Ottawa County Road Commission has received multiple calls from residents concerned about the traffic pattern. Zach Russell, the spokesperson for the Road Commission told 13 On Your Side the traffic engineer and the project engineer did meet Tuesday to discuss the issues.

"I think we are going to look at some sort of dividing line down to create two lanes and try to work with the Sheriff's Office to direct traffic down there a little bit," Russell said.

Though officials don't know exactly when that divided lane will be put into place but in the meantime, they urge drivers if you don't live or do business in the area, avoid it.

"It’s not an ideal situation and it’s never going to be safe to drive in a construction zone, but we always want people to know to watch out and be careful and drive slowly because there’s a lot of hazards in construction zones," Russell said.

"The more people that are on it the harder it is for the people who live there to get around," Russell added.

The Ottawa County Road Commission expects this project to be complete by the end of October.

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