GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Neighbor concerns and pushback have delayed a major road construction project on Wealthy Street in Eastown.
Grand Rapids recently announced its larger road projects for 2026 at the end of March. I noticed Wealthy Street was absent from that list after the city announced last year that work was supposed to start in 2026 and go through 2028.
The original plans included removing parking and introducing bike lanes for several blocks.
After pushback from the community, much of that work appears to be off the table for now.
When asked about the status of the project, a city spokesperson sent me a statement explaining that the reconstruction of Wealthy Street is now planned in multiple phases to help manage impacts on the local community.
The reconstruction of Wealthy Street is planned with multiple phases to help manage impacts to the local community. The first phase is expected in 2027 and includes the intersection of Lake Drive and Wealthy Street and extends to the east City limits near Woodmere. This project will include water main, reconstruction of the brick street, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant sidewalks, bulb outs to improve visibility of pedestrians and shorten cross walks, and on street bike lanes that connect to existing bike lanes in East Grand Rapids and on Lake Drive. The City anticipates bidding the first phase in the Fall of 2026 for construction in 2027.
The City continues to engage with business and community organizations and the City will be gathering additional data and studying the corridor before completing the design between Fuller and Lake Drive. The City committed to additional time for community engagement, data gathering, considerations of adjustments to the design, and review of construction sequencing and timing. A final schedule for that work will not be available until the additional design work is completed and shared with the community.
In October, the city proposed removing parking on the north side of Wealthy Street between Carlton Avenue and Lake Drive.
Many businesses in that stretch spoke out against the project when it was announced.
"I think a big scary part of this is just how much of the street is going to be closed down at one time," Steven Martinez said in an interview in October.
Martinez is the owner of Asada. The Tex-Mex restaurant closed its location on Wealthy Street this past January.
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