VBT planners approve temporary concrete batch plant for I-275

A temporary concrete batch plant with three, large temporary structures will be put in place on 10 acres of landfill property east of the Ecorse/I-275 northbound on ramp.
At the Feb. 23 meeting of the Van Buren Township Planning Commission, Dan Power, director of planning and economic development, explained that Jason Beem of Ajax Paving Industries, Inc., is the applicant on behalf of property owner Waste Management of Michigan and the Michigan Department of Transportation.
There will be three temporary structures and six material piles to provide paving materials for the I-275 reconstruction project. The site at 39670 Ecorse Rd. is north of Ecorse Road and east of I-275.
This activity is proposed from March 1, 2022 through Dec. 31, 2023, when everything will be removed and Waste Management will get on with its landfill development.
Power said a 30’ wide, two-way access road will be built on the east side of I-275 with entrance onto the ramp and also Ecorse Road. The road is completely in the MDOT territory. He said he has asked them to confer with the county because of increased traffic on a county road.
He said it is being built on the west area of Woodland Meadows, west of the old golf course. He said the batch plant will generate noise and vibration, but the site eventually will become part of the landfill expansion.
The temporary buildings on the site will include a 20’ tall crusher plant, a 32’ tall cement treated base batch plant and a 68’ tall Portland Cement concrete batch plant. There is a water well line under I-375 to the site. It is intended to operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and not on Sundays or legal holidays. Special approval is needed by the township to operate other times for special circumstances.
The noise must be kept to 67 decibels or less and dust prevention measures followed.
About 120 trucks per day will bring broken concrete to the site and 200 trips a day from the cement mixer. About 100 trucks a day will carry sandstone and cement.
He said there will be an average 520 truck trips per day. Power said there are an average of 16,000 trips on Ecorse daily and this will increase the traffic.
Power said there is the necessity for a performance bond in the amount to restore the site, which will be an estimated amount. He said when they are done, Waste Management will come in and start landfill work.
Applicant Beem said this is a 13-mile job, which is huge considering seven miles is considered a big job. He said they looked at a dozen other locations but found this to be the best. He said they looked at a site on Eureka, which is past the job and has FAA restricts on the height of the buildings. Other sites had wetlands.
“We like to find sites with the least impact to local communities,” Beem said. “It does not help us to be stuck in traffic.”
Jeff Horne of MDOT said they have time restrictions. There are other sites that will also be used in Canton Township and Plymouth Township, but the buildings will be right out in the open. He said the VBT site is camouflaged at the landfill site.
Beem said they have set up sites all over the state and this is an ideal site, away from the community. He said they looked at a site on Haggerty Road and the township didn’t want it there.
“We try to fit in the scope itself with minimal impact,” he said.
Commissioner Brian Cullin asked about how the trucks will fit in with normal traffic and Beem said all the freeway traffic will be on the northbound lanes and their trucks will be on the southbound.
“We will merge with traffic,” he said. “All construction traffic will yield to regular traffic.”
Commission chairman Byron Kelley asked if the weight of the trucks will affect the road surfaces.
Power said Ecorse Road is built to withstand heavy traffic and Beem agreed, saying it is a Class A road.
Under the ordinance, all temporary uses more than seven consecutive days in length require planning commission approval. The commission voted unanimously to approve this temporary land use.
Commissioners Callie Barr and Jeff Jahr were absent from the meeting.