Memorial Day weekend is the traditional start to the summer and with the summer comes road construction. 7&4’s Kate Fox looks at where the biggest road projects will be in northern Michigan.
Just after Memorial Day you can expect to see a lot of road construction that could make getting around difficult for drivers.
Jessica Macarthur is from Traverse City and says, "Getting to and from work is going to be hard. It means I’m going to have to leave like 45 to an hour early for work."
Macarthur works on Division Street -- which on Tuesday MDOT will begin repairing and repaving from 14th Street to Grandview Parkway.
It's a heavy traffic area so if possible you should use another route or plan on adding extra time to your trips. This work is expected to stop at the end of June and then finish up in September.
Switching gears to focus on Emmet and Cheboygan counties, construction to smooth out a 5.2 mile stretch of US-31 from Paradise trail to I-75 also starts Tuesday and lasts until July. Drivers can expect lane closures and traffic back-ups.
Other road projects are already in action and are giving drivers headaches.
Marie Scarbrough is from Cadillac and says, "Its been quite a challenge when I need to get into the bank or get into a local business sometimes I end up being late because you wait for traffic...they reroute it!"
Scarbrough is talking about the reconstruction of US-131 business route in downtown Cadillac. The road has been closed since March so drivers have had to use a detour. The road should reopen in August.
Also in Wexford County, M-37 has been closed over Pine River since April as workers repair the bridge deck. The posted detour adds time to your trip so MDOT says plan accordingly. This project should be done by November.
MDOT also is in the middle of painting Mackinac Bridge so drivers should prepare for steady lane closures until October.
MDOT officials stress that these projects are weather dependent -- and ask drivers to have patience throughout the summer months.
