What many consider the gateway to downtown Grand Rapids is a rocky road.
Some motorist try to avoid using portions of Michigan Street all together.
Help is on the way, as long as city commissioners OK a $1.7 million plan to fix a portion of Michigan Street at Tuesday’s City Commission meeting.
“As you can see it’s in really poor condition,” said assistant city engineer Rick DeVries as he walked along part of the bad stretch of the street Friday morning.
The work would involve Michigan Street between Monroe and Ionia avenues. The entire roadway – curb to gutter – would be replaced.
The project would begin in April and should be completed by mid-June.
Traffic would be a mess for the more than 22,000 drivers who rely on the road each day, despite the city’s plan to keep open one lane in each direction and the center turn lane. The ramps to I-196 will be closed during the latter portion of the project.
Work has been underway since last year to realign the confusing lane configuration.
The last time this section of Michigan Street was rebuilt was in 1995.