Relief in Sight for Flooded Albion Residents

Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) crews worked Thursday to fix a problem that left some Farmington Hills residents so frustrated that they called the Action News Team at WXYZ television.

Hills Director of Public Works Kevin McCarthy said a problem with icing in the area of Grand River and Albion Street this past winter caused a broken water pipe that left portions of the street underwater when heavy rains hit this spring. While MDOT owns Grand River, the Road Commission for Oakland County maintains the road, he explained.

The city has control on Albion, McCarthy added.

"When the county was out there (in winter), they noticed a catch basin was full of water," he said. After identifying the problem was with a pipe underneath the median on Grand River, the RCOC discovered the pipe had separated, and "because it's on MDOT's road, it's their pipe," McCarthy said.

Arrangements were made to fix the pipe along with a planned road project. Work is currently under way to narrow the median and widen traffic lanes.

"Little did they know there would be so much rain this spring," McCarthy said.

When Albion flooded, he said residents were notified that the city's sewer pipes were clear and the problem was underneath Grand River. But as rainy weather continued, one resident grew impatient and called WXYZ television.

The station initially reported that the city of Farmington Hills, RCOC and MDOT were blaming each other for the problem. However, the station reported Wednesday that MDOT had admitted it is its responsibility.

"If it had been a city pipe that we could go in and fix, we would have done that right away," McCarthy said. "That didn't happen, because it's not our pipe. We can't touch it."