Streets closed through May 5 for repaving of Loranger Square
MONROE — Some of the concrete in downtown Monroe’s Loranger Square will be replaced again; this time, at no cost to the city.
To complete the project, two roads are closed through May 5: East First Street between Monroe and Macomb streets and Washington Street at First Street. Washington Street will be temporary converted to two-way traffic on the block between First and Front streets, said Patrick Lewis, the City of Monroe’s director of engineering and public services.
In 2023, the City of Monroe paid about $75,000 to replace the pavement at Loranger Square, which is at the intersection of East First and Washington streets. Last year’s project involved the stamped concrete and the "X" shape that uses standard concrete, Lewis said.
“It has developed some defects,” Lewis said in an email message.
“In January, we started noticing the surface was looking very weathered, and while neither the contractor nor we are sure of exactly what happened, the surface already looks 10 years or more old, particularly in the wheel paths. The process of coloring and stamping is much more sensitive than standard concrete and thus has more possible failure points, but the subcontractor that did the work, GM & Sons, sent their best crew down to perform the work.”
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Now, the concrete will be replaced, and the Michigan Concrete Association will inspect the process.
“The contractor, GM & Sons of Whitmore Lake, will be replacing this entire area at no cost to the city. When replaced, the Michigan Concrete Association is planning to come down at no charge, so hopefully with technical experts on site, any possible problems can be rooted out during the process,” Lewis said.
Loranger Square has been a downtown Monroe landmark for generations. It’s the location of many downtown events, including the annual Christmas Tree Lighting. The square's current pavement design dates back to the early 1980s, when the Michigan Southern Railroad tracks were removed, Lewis said. Some historic bricks made their way into the new design.
"The square was reworked into its current geometric configuration. (At that time) the city had just completed a number of streetscape improvements on East Front Street that dug up a number of original paving bricks that were then cleaned up, and the best ones could be set in Loranger Square," Lewis said.
Improvements to Loranger Square weren’t needed until last year. At that time, the historic bricks had to be removed.
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“Loranger Square was reconstructed along with the block of First Street going east to Macomb Street in 2023 because the pavement and curbs in this area had been getting bad enough that there were numerous trip hazards, both on the curbs and in the street itself," Lewis said.
"The square had old paving bricks placed on a stone base, and these were starting to rut very badly in the wheel paths, particularly along the First Street paths. When it was determined that the majority of the bricks could not be reused for surface paving again because of damage, the city determined to match the look the closest as possible, and that was by using stamped, colored concrete in as close to the original color and pattern as possible. The 'X' or 'cross' in the center in standard concrete matches the dimensions that were there before (pre-2023)."
The Department of Public Services anticipates the closed intersection will reopen on May 6. Lake Erie Transit will still use its bus transfer center at City Hall, but the buses will be parked on the north side of First between Macomb and Scott streets and the west side of Scott from First Street going north, Lewis said.
— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at swisler@monroenews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Streets closed through May 5 for repaving of Loranger Square
