MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. — Blackmer Road, located between Wilson Street and Ellis Road, in Muskegon County is a treacherous journey.
"People are lined up, car against car, waiting their turn to go around this jungle of potholes," said Teresa Cichewicz who has lived in the area for years.
13 ON YOUR SIDE measured one of the largest potholes along the road with a yard stick and it was seven inches deep.
"We're all taxpayers along this road and we just feel this road should be taken care of," said Cichewicz.
"We'll patch it one day, and two days later, there's several hundred or possibly more potholes," said Ken Hulka, the Managing Director of the Muskegon County Road Commission.
Hulka calls the road a failed experiment. Years ago, the county allowed Ravenna Township to buy and place millings and chip seal pavement along the road, but it didn't last long.
"With the frost and everything and the problems underneath the road with the clay base, it didn't hold up so we've been spending quite the fortune on it in the interim."
Between $30,000 - $50,000 a year to be exact.
Hulka says there are two solutions: one being an up to $3 million rebuild which includes peeling, adding sand and paving.
There would be a cost-share.
"The township would probably have to come up with a million or two million dollars," said Hulka. "It's a small township with not a lot of funds so that's impossible, I would guess."
According to Hulka, the township's currently asking the county for a cost estimate.
The easier, and less-expensive solution would be to hire a company to regrind the road, treat it as a gravel road and smooth it once a week.
This is something the county could do on their own as it would be considered maintenance.
"We really just want to express our community's desire to have these roads fixed so they don't cause an accident or worse for somebody [who wants to] enjoy West Michigan," said Cichewicz.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.