CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH DAN WEINGARTEN, M-DOT
The Michigan Department of Transportation is still grinding away at road projects now that fall has arrived.
In fact, depending on weather conditions, many road and bridge projects will last through November.
M-DOT spokesman Dan Weingarten at the Superior Region office in Ishpeming says it’s been a busy construction season here in the Upper Peninsula.
“We haven’t had a lot of really huge projects, but we’ve had scattered medium-to-large projects all around the U.P.,” Weingarten told RRN News. “We do have a few that are starting later than usual, just because of the way contractors schedules went. It’s kind of unusually, even here in September, with some projects just starting to break ground.”
They include:
Work on US-41/M-28 at the new Ishpeming roundabout
Resurfacing on US-2 near Manistique
Resurfacing on US-2 between Powers and Harris
Maintenance work on US-2 bridge to Wisconsin in Dickinson County
Resurfacing on US-41 and M-35 in the City of Menominee
Culvert project on M-48 in Chippewa County
On-going work on US-41/M-28 between Marquette Township and Negaunee
On-going work on M-35 in Gwinn
Weingarten says the Ishpeming roundabout project is one of the biggest new projects, with work scheduled to start on Sept. 18.
North Lakeshore drive will be closed beginning Sept. 18 with a posted detour on Country Lane and River Parkway. A temporary signal has been installed at the intersection of US-41/M-28 and Country Lane. This signal is currently in flash mode and will begin normal operation when the detour starts. During the project, one lane will be open in each direction on US-41/M-28. Additional local traffic detours will be required during future phases of the project.
“We have to widen the bridge over the Carp River, which crosses the road just west of that intersection where the new roundabout will be,” Weingarten said. “They will start work on the sub-structure of that bridge this fall. And to do that, they’re going to have to close North Lakeshore Drive, which is the road that leads to U.P. Health System Bell Hospital. There will be a short detour, just to the east of Lakeshore Drive. That detour will stay in place for the fall until winter, then we’ll pick up with a lot more work there all of next year.”
The project between Powers and Harris will be notable because of the traffic generated by visitors to the Island Resort and Casino.
“This is a milling and resurfacing project that covers ten miles,” Weingarten said. “People driving down there need to expect some lane shifts and some single lane closure, with flaggers in those areas. Drive with caution when you go through there and be ready to slow down. Typically, they’ll only close up to a mile at a time. They’ll work on a stretch, and have traffic alternating where they’re working.”
One of the more frustrating projects for drivers is the one in Gwinn, which was supposed to be done in time for the start of the school year. They were hoping to get traffic flowing again there and the traffic moved to the other side of the road. That work is being done right in front of Gwinn High School, and Weingarten says it will be a while before it’s done.
“There’s a lot of groundwater,” he said. “It was a wetter spring than they anticipated. A lot of that work, we should make clear, is utility work. It’s not that paving takes that long. If it was just a paving project, it would be done by now. But there was a lot of water and sewer work that required a lot of excavation in that area. The rivers down there were extremely high. That’s what got that project a little bit behind schedule. They’re making progress. We still expect it to wrap up by the end of October, and get things back to normal for the winter.”
MDOT is asking all road users to remain alert and focused as they travel through work zones. Road construction is dangerous work year-round, but it can be especially challenging in fall due to changes in weather, travel patterns, and construction fatigue.
As a reminder, Michigan has passed a hands-free law, making it illegal to manually use a cell phone or other mobile electronic device while operating a vehicle on Michigan roads. Learn more about the hands-free law at www.Michigan.gov/DistractedDriving.
You can stay prepared for road and bridge work using MDOT’s Mi Drive website at www.Michigan.gov/Drive. In addition to showing current and upcoming work on I, M and US routes, the website also shows current traffic incidents that may cause delays.
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