GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — GRAND RAPIDS CONSTRUCTION FAST FACTS
- Division Ave - Late November into December
- Ann St - DONE
- Leonard St. - DONE
- Plainfield Ave and Fuller - DONE (removing barrels Friday)
The City of Grand Rapids has undergone several major construction projects this year.
I drove out to Leonard on Thursday and saw both lanes open. There were a few construction barrels, but they were on the sidewalks.
Then I drove out to Ann Street. The other day, it was open to traffic on both sides, but crews were out putting the final touches with some paint at the intersections.
The city says a part of Plainfield, right by Fuller caused a lot of headaches. Many would want to turn left and couldn’t because of the barrels. Well, the city says those should be gone on Friday.
The sound of construction here on Division Avenue is still loud. The city says it will still be late November and December by the time Division is fully open again.
“They got those big drops down here sometimes when they're digging the road out. It did bust my (bike) tire up and I had to get it fixed, so it wasn't the greatest,” Travis Verbeek said.
Bike, drive or walk, Division Avenue hasn't been easy to navigate since March because of this road closure north of Fulton Street.
“I was on my way down to Trinity Health just to go to the doctor, get some checkups, get some vaccines,” Dakota Wood said. “I was a little bit late.”
The sound of construction could be heard blocks down the street in late October.
“The crews are grading right now up at Crescent for placement of curve, which is anticipated to go in early next week with asphalt pavement to follow,” Interim Grand Rapids City Engineer Jeff McCaul said.
I asked what the timeline is because the city told FOX 17 in February that this project would be done in November.
“We're right now kind of shooting for late November for Division to be reopened to traffic. It will be reopened to southbound traffic,” McCaul said.
The interim city engineer explained the north lane won't open til mid to late December. The project touched a lot of things beyond the pavement.
“We have all new traffic signals, a new water main, we did some sewer separation, new street lights, we narrowed the road. We have brickscape in the business district,” McCaul said.
Many people are looking forward to this being completed.
“I’m actually really, really looking forward to it because again, I like to ride my bike, and this is like straight down to where I live. So it'd be nice to be able to just come straight to downtown because I go to meetings up there,” Verbeek said.
