GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — There is just less than a week until a major road construction project begins along one of West Michigan's busiest freeways.
A portion of the Martin Luther King Jr. Street bridge over US-131 is set to be replaced in 2026, 100 years after it was first built.
The City of Grand Rapids and the Michigan Department of Transportation are coordinating on the project, which will start on Monday, March 2. The project was announced in 2025.
Grand Rapids
MLK Street bridge over US 131 to close for reconstruction next spring
The 700-foot section slated for replacement, from the ramps for northbound US-131 to Buchanan Avenue, was first built in 1926 to take vehicles over a series of railroad tracks, according to MDOT. Some components of the original bridge are still in place. The remaining bridge, over US-131 and Century Avenue was built in the 1950's and won't be replaced.
The project will close MLK Street over US-131, along with the northbound on- and off-ramps for US-131. The southbound US-131 ramps, which connect with Century Avenue, will remain open.
Drivers headed north on US-131 can use either Hall Street or Wealthy Street. Traffic on MLK Street will be detoured through Century Avenue, Hall Street, and Division Avenue.
The $30 million project is expected to wrap up in mid-November.
