COURTLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- Road projects usually aim to smooth out your ride, but a plan for M-57 aims to give you relief from slow traffic.
The Michigan Department of Transportation is in the process of adding what’s called a passing relief lanes in a two-mile stretch of M-57 in Courtland Township.
Safety is the main reason. Passing traffic on two-lane roads is one of the most dangerous maneuvers a driver can take.
The relief comes when you’re stuck behind a slow-moving vehicle.
“A lot of times people get frustrated, and they take chances, and that’s not good,” notes MDOT Grand Region spokesperson John Richard.
Eventually, you will be able to pass slower traffic in special added lanes between Ramsdell Drive and Farland Avenue east of Myers Lake Avenue, which is about midway between US-131 and Greenville.
“People are going to Greenville, people are going to 131, so this is a great place right in the middle of those two locations,” says Richard.
But the project is still in the planning stages, with much of the right of way already obtained. The last need to fill is budgetary.
The money for the project will not be available until 2021, so drivers will have to wait for relief until the end of that year’s construction season.
