U.S. 131 faces lane closures for construction
STURGIS — The northern half of U.S. 131 in St. Joseph County will be limited to one lane in both directions through the duration of a major two-county project beginning next spring.
Michigan Department of Transportation officials provided extensive details of the $57 million, two-year undertaking during a pair of public-information sessions: Wednesday in Schoolcraft and Thursday in Three Rivers.
Project manager Sarah Fedders said work will begin in April at the Rocky River bridge and conclude more than 13 miles north at a revamped Shaver Road intersection in Kalamazoo County.
“The plan is to start at Rocky River and go up to XY Avenue in 2023,” she said, indicating that portion of the project will likely cover the full, April-through-November construction season. “Then, in 2024, go from XY up to Shaver Road. The reconstruction job in the village of Schoolcraft would then happen after July 4 in 2024.”
Fedders said the St. Joseph County portion will involve removal of a top layer to be replaced by a fresh surface. Drainage issues will be addressed and guardrail improvements made at various points, and so-called “Michigan Lefts” will be added at most intersections.
She said an additional amount of work will be done at U.S. 131’s intersection with Wilbur Road/North Main Street. It, too, will feature Michigan-Left turns.
Both northbound and southbound routes of U.S. 131 will be narrowed to one lane in each direction while the St. Joseph County portion of the work is performed, she added.
Fedders said because of the work zone’s length and heavy traffic volume of the route, the project could fairly be considered a major undertaking.
“It’s more than 13 miles long, so that brings it up a level, and it’s a two-season project,” she said. “Some people believe because it’s not on an interstate it’s not a major project, but because so many people will be impacted by the work, it definitely could be considered a major project.”
At the north end of the project, Shaver Road will be a right-turn-only onto northbound U.S. 131. Traffic wishing to head south onto U.S. 131 will have to then turn onto a Michigan Left, which will be controlled by a traffic signal.
Meanwhile, U.S. 131 in the village of Schoolcraft will undergo a full reconstruction, from the railroad crossing north to Lyons Street, as the final portion of the three-part process.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: U.S. 131 in Sturgis faces lane closures for construction
