Mount Hope Road in Okemos could go from four lanes to three
Editor's Note: A public meeting to consider one of the road changes is planned for Wednesday, Jan. 31. An earlier version of this story had an incorrect date.
MERIDIAN TWP. — Two well-travelled roads could go from four lanes for vehicles to three - one lane in each direction plus a turn lane and two bike lanes, as the latest road conversion projects unfold in Meridian Township and East Lansing.
The conversions, totaling about $2.6 million, would go through primarily residential areas.
A 1.6-mile stretch of Mount Hope Road, from Hagadorn Road to Okemos Road, in Meridian Township could go under construction in 2025. The potential Ingham County project has yet to get approval and a public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
The project is expected to cost around $1 million and, if approved, would likely happen in the summer of 2025, said Neal Galehouse, director of engineering for Ingham County's road department.
A two-thirds of a mile stretch of Hagadorn Road, from Grand River Avenue to Burcham Drive, is set for a vehicle reduction this summer. The project is expected to cost around $1.6 million, said Stephen Clayton, an engineering administrator for the city of East Lansing.
East Lansing City Council members approved the Hagadorn conversion on Jan. 23 and construction is expected to finish before Michigan State University students return for classes at the end of August.
Both of the changes should help bike riders, said Tim Potter, a bicycle advocate and former member of the Meridian Township Transportation Commission.
"I'll ride on anything. I've been riding for more than 40 years, and I'm not concerned or scared," Potter said. "But few others will."
He said the region seems to be accepting road conversions, where the number of travel lanes or widths of the roads are reduced for overall improvements.
"Previously we had one every five or six years, mostly in Lansing," Potter said. "Now it seems like one or two every year."
The conversions can slow down traffic, which is the most common objection, he said.
But roads become safer for more people and any delays are minor, especially compared to the delays when there is an accident, Potter said.
Mount Hope Road
"The 3-lane configuration typically exhibits significantly fewer left turn crashes compared to the current 4-lane configuration without a significant loss of traffic capacity, based on experience with similar road conversions," according to the notice for the potential Meridian Township project, using the same language that has been used in previous conversions.
The project also would include milling and resurfacing the road.
The area gets around 7,000 to 8,000 vehicles a day, Galehouse said.
People can submit comments about the potential project at the Wednesday meeting or they can contact the roads department any time until 3:30 p.m. on March 1. Comments can be made through writing, email or phone calls.
Hagadorn Road
The Hagadorn Road project will be East Lansing's ninth conversion of four-lane roads to three lanes. The first was in 1996 at Burcham Road between Abbot Road and Whitehouse Drive.
In a Jan. 23 meeting, several residents opposed the plan, saying it would add to travel times, according to a video recording of the meeting.
City officials presented safety data, saying that the previous road conversions had resulted in fewer collisions.
Clayton said the road gets about 14,600 vehicles a day.
There have been several similar projects in the area for almost two decades, including parts of Lake Lansing Road, which was converted in 2023 and a portion of Harrison Road in East Lansing in 2016.
The county's major spring road projects will be building a roundabout at Hagadorn Road and Sandhill Road in Alaiedon Township and reconstruction on Holt Road from U.S. 127 to Okemos Road.
Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Mount Hope Road in Okemos could go from four lanes to three
