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Michigan Department of Transportation officials spoke about the $9.6 million repaving project set to replace US-41 from MacInnes Drive on Michigan Tech’s campus to Isle Royale Street downtown. Work starts on May 3rd and reconstruction will continue in phases through fall 2022.
Repaving on the eastern portion of the construction zone happens this year, with Franklin Square and Montezuma being wrapped up at the end of the anticipated 18-month window. There will be significant changes to lane configurations throughout the area. Some places will be widened, others narrowed. College Avenue is set to be expanded to three lanes with a dedicated left-turn option.
Project Engineer Al Anderson says that Montezuma Avenue will be brought down from three lanes to two as it empties onto College Avenue. That allows for a pedestrian pathway to be installed where the right turn lane is currently.
Traffic will be detoured in several different ways depending on what portion of the project is being worked on. Through campus, eastbound vehicles will remain on 41, with lane shifts employed. Westbound traffic will utilize Cliff Drive, a detour that has been used in prior construction on the highway.
Blanche Street will pick up some of the vehicles meant for MacInnes Drive so that traffic can be rerouted along Sharon Avenue next year when Montezuma and College Avenues are being worked on. The four-way stops on Sharon will be temporarily converted to traffic lights. The project is being designed so it can be completed during the summer months.
