MICHIGAN — According to Roads and Bridges, a publication that focuses on the nations transportation infrastructure, Michigan has highly benefited from President Biden’s infrastructure plans. The Biden administration has worked diligently since passage of historic investments in our nation’s infrastructure to get projects off the ground.
Since April, many road construction projects have started across the state. With each project comes numerous jobs for carpenters, laborers, operating engineers and other skilled trades workers.
The projects announced are below:
- A multi-month project to repair and resurface the Southfield Freeway will start in April, prompting lane and ramp closures in Wayne County. The $15.5 million project by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) includes concrete patching, milling and resurfacing, and pavement markings for five miles of freeway on northbound and southbound M-39 (Southfield Freeway) from Pinecrest Drive, south of I-94, to M-153 (Ford Road). Crews will also perform routine maintenance within the closed sections of roadway, including drainage cleaning and barrier wall repairs.
- M-44 in Kent County: Westbound traffic on East Beltline Avenue will reduced by one lane overnight from Sunday through Thursday, April 18. The left lane will be closed at various points from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily between 3 Mile Road and I-96. A similar moving lane closure is scheduled for eastbound traffic the following week.
- I-94 in Wayne County: Highway maintenance will require a single-lane closure between Haggerty and Belleville Road, beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday. The right lane closure on the westbound side of I-94 will continue until 4 p.m. Sunday, April 21. Intermittent shoulder work is also scheduled for the eastbound highway from Rawsonville Road to Greenfield Road. That work is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily from Monday through Friday.
- U.S. 24 in Oakland County: Northbound Telegraph Road (U.S. 24) will be without its right lane at times from Maple Road to Square Lake Road to allow for daily maintenance beginning Monday. The moving closure is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. into early May.
- U.S. 131 in Kalamazoo County: Stretches of southbound U.S. 131 between U Avenue and Lyons Street, and between Lyons Street and X Y Avenue, will be closing at midnight Monday. The total closures are expected to last into late July. On the northbound side, U.S. 131 will have one lane closed between X Y Avenue and Shaver Road for seven months.
- U.S. 10 in Bay and Midland counties: Beginning Monday, segments of U.S. 10 in both directions will have long-lasting, single-lane closures. Construction will be between I-75 and 7 Mile Road until November, and between Midland and Rockwell Road until late May. Westbound U.S. 10 will also have one lane closed for construction in the area of Fisher Road. That closure will continue into late May as well.
- M-40 in Van Buren County: M-40 will be closed in both directions between White Oak Road and 72nd Avenue, beginning Monday. The total closures will last through the summer, with an expected end date in late August. Drivers will be detoured using White Oak Road, Walker Street, and 4th Street.
- M-139 in Berrien County: Northbound Martin Luther King Drive (M-139) is scheduled to close at 7 a.m. Monday between Empire Avenue and Hall Street near Benton Harbor. Permit work will require the total closure through May.
- I-75 in Southeast Michigan: The right lane of northbound I-75 between Schaefer and Dearborn Street in Wayne County will be closed daily for permit work from Monday through Saturday. Road work is scheduled between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. each day. Ramps from I-75 to Square Lake Road (I-75 BL) in Oakland County will also require single-lane closures through the end of July.
- U.S. 131 in Kent County: Two lanes of northbound highway will be closed between Burton Street and Pearl Street, and between Pearl Street and I-196, beginning Tuesday. Road work on the former segment will continue for two weeks, while the latter segment closure is scheduled to reopen around 3 p.m. Friday. The northbound exit ramp to Wealthy Street will also be closed for two weeks, while the northbound entrance ramp from Pearl will be closed from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily from Tuesday through Friday.
Numerous other projects will take place around the state. This is due to the laser focus on fixing roads that both Governor Gretchen Whitmer and President Joe Biden have had since taking office.
