GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — When spring arrives in Michigan, the barrels come out.
The Michigan Department of Transportation plans a busy road construction season. Many of the major projects involve complete rebuilding of sections of freeway.
MDOT divides up the state into regions, and West Michigan encompasses two of them: the Grand Region (Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Kent, Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, and Ottawa counties), and the Southwest Region (Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, Marshall, St. Joseph, and Van Buren counties).
Here are the major projects planned this year in the Grand Region. (Start dates have not yet been announced.)
Kent County
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I-96
- Rebuilding I-96 between 36th Street and the Whitneyville Avenue overpass.
- All traffic will be shifted to share one side of the highway while the other side is rebuilt.
- Expect lane closures.
- Cost: $15.5-16 million.
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I-96
- Creating a new ramp from M-21 Fulton Street to eastbound I-96.
- Until now, eastbound traffic on I-96 has only been able to exit. The new ramp allows entering I-96 eastbound from Fulton Street.
- Build an extra right lane on eastbound I-96 to connect Fulton Street with Cascade Road with a weave-merge lane.
- Cost: $3.5 million.
M-11 28th Street
- Resurfacing 4.5 miles between US-131 in Wyoming and I-196 in Grandville.
- Most work will be done at night with lane closures and traffic shifts.
- Repairs to bridges.
- Cost: $4.5 million.
Ottawa County
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I-196
- Rebuild seven miles of I-196 between 32nd Avenue and Byron Road.
- All traffic will be shifted to share one side of the highway while the other side is rebuilt.
- Expect lane closures.
- Cost: $65-66 million. Source: Rebuilding Michigan Program.
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US-31
- Maintenance and repair of the bascule bridge (drawbridge) over the Grand River.
- Maintenance and repair of related bridges north of the Grand River on US-31 and M-104.
- Second year of the three-year project.
- Expect lane closures and traffic shifts.
- Work will be done in spring and fall, suspended during the summer tourist season.
- Total Cost for three years: $20 million.
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US-31
- Rebuild 3.5 miles of US-31 between I-196 and Central Avenue.
- Expect lane closures and traffic shifts.
- Cost: $25 million.
Allegan County
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US-131
- Completion of the upgrade to the interchange at M-179 Exit 61, Gun Lake Casino.
- Finishing the new bridges over US-131.
- Resurfacing US-131 north and south of the interchange.
- Expect lane closures.
- Cost: $26 million.
- The project is partially funded by the Gun Lake Tribe of the Pottawatomi Indians.
