GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — I live and work in Grand Rapids, and it’s been hard to get to the downtown area because of the construction going on Division. The stretch has been closed for months and will remain closed for a few more months.
As your Grand Rapids reporter, I talked with businesses about how this impacted their summer season.
Right now, Monroe Center near the corner of Division is closed to through traffic; however, there is one sign that explains "DON'T LET THE CONES FOOL YOU, SIDEWALKS & SHOPS OPEN AHEAD!"
“Since the construction has been around, I've definitely seen it die a lot, die down a lot. I feel like they just block traffic from seeing our business,” Nagoya Hibachi Sushi & Catering Chef Brandon Schaefer said.
Schaefer has worked at this restaurant for a couple of years.
“My close friend Henry told me that I should try to be a hibachi chef, because my personality is really good for it,” he added.
The intersection where the restaurant is was closed down last summer for work. This year's construction includes three blocks of Division.
Beyond infrastructure, there are also upgrades to utilities, street lights, and narrowing the roads.
“Now there's a little bit of traffic coming through right in front of our business. Before that, they wouldn’t allow anything. It was just completely blocked off,” Schaefer said.
I talked with other businesses, too. They didn't want to go on camera, but told me that summer is typically the slower season, anyway.
Schaefer says he's looking forward to construction wrapping up so people can see them much more easily.
“So I think people like the word spread a little slowly, but it's getting out there,” Schaefer said.
A city official tells me they plan to have Division open around the end of the year.
