An engineer with the Van Buren County Road Commission has won a statewide award for a project done last year.
Engineering technician David Clift has been honored by the County Road Association of Michigan with its “Program Manager of the Year” Award for a $1.8 million project on County Road 388 from CR 653 to the Kalamazoo County line. He tells us it was one of the larger projects the road commission had last year, and he’s pleased with how it went.
“I think it went pretty smooth overall,” Clift said. “Turned out well. We did over 13,000 tons of asphalt paving in four days. I mean, the contractors really did a great job. That makes it easier for guys like me, inspectors, when a contractor wants to do good work, takes pride in it.”
The Van Buren County Road Commission says what made the project unique was its funding, involving a combination of Pine Grove Township ARPA funds, Van Buren County ARPA funds, and road commission transportation funds.
Clift received the award at the County Road Association’s 2025 County Engineers Workshop in Bellaire last month.
“A little recognition for some work. That’s always nice.”
Van Buren County Road Commission Managing Director Bret Witkowski tells us the award for Clift is a testament to the quality of the engineering team at the commission. He says whenever he had a question for Clift about the work, whether day or night, he’d get a response quickly.
The County Road Association of Michigan represents the interests of Michigan’s 83 county road agencies that collectively maintain 75% of Michigan’s road miles.
