MACOMB TWP, Mich. (WXYZ) — A major road widening project in Macomb Township has been stalled for years, leaving behind boarded-up homes, abandoned businesses and frustrated residents who say they were forced out long before construction ever began.
Watch Evan Sery's report below
Along Romeo Plank Road, between 21 and a half and 23 Mile roads, vacant and abandoned homes and buildings sit idle. The stretch was supposed to undergo a major, multi-million dollar renovation years ago.
Macomb Township Supervisor Frank Viviano said the scene is difficult to look at.
"It's embarrassing to have these boarded up houses," Viviano said.
"It makes everyone who lives here feel like we're living in this ghost town," Viviano said.
The two-lane roads are supposed to be widened to five lanes to ease traffic congestion. Viviano said a roundabout will eventually be built at the intersection as well. But a federal permitting issue has held the project up.
"It's hard to explain why it's taken this long for something that has been a normal standard operating procedure for so many years. A very specific permit has been held up at the federal level," Viviano said.
For Michael Thursam, the delays are personal. His former home along the corridor is now boarded up. Eminent domain forced his family to leave what he called their dream home.
"Yeah it makes me sick," Thursam said.
"This was me and my wife's dream home," Thursam said.
Thursam said he wants the project stopped entirely.
"Really I'd just like to see their whole project get shut down, federal funding get stopped, and I can try to get a lawyer and get my home back," Thursam said.
I also spoke with the owner of a once-booming liquor store on Romeo Plank Road that is now boarded up. The owner still lives nearby but said he does everything he can to avoid seeing it.
Nathan Kizi operated Mario's Corner Market for 15 years before eminent domain forced him out in 2022. The building was demolished in 2024. More than two years later, construction has still not begun.
"They were telling me I had to leave," Kizi said.
"I legit have to detour so I don't see the abandoned building anymore," Kizi said.
"I could have made a lot of money in two years, no reason to kick me out at that time," Kizi said.
The Macomb County Department of Roads said the project is moving forward. In a statement, the department said it "is in the final stages of review and approval of the environmental assessment." The statement also said the project "has been delayed due to some unique elements as they related to the historic district" and that "the process is now at the end stage of that review and the county anticipates federal approval in the coming months." County officials said early operations could begin as soon as next year.
Viviano pointed to a breakdown in communication between the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration as part of the problem.
"There was disconnect between MDOT and federal highway, those communication issues I find them to be unacceptable," Viviano said.
An MDOT spokesperson said the agency has been trying to help the county get back on track to following the regulations required by the Federal Highway Administration, but that MDOT has no role in the project itself. The Federal Highway Administration did not respond to a request for comment.
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