Savings from our mild winter is contributing to the funding of two road construction projects scheduled to begin within the next week.
According to the Michigan Department of Transportation, crews will begin heavy maintenance work on M-59 in Macomb County and Interstate 75 in Oakland County.
“We’re using money left over from our winter budget and combining it with money for summer maintenance budget to help fund these two projects,” said MDOT spokesman Rob Morosi. “Without the savings, the M-59 project would not happen and only half the I-75 project would be accomplished.”
MDOT will make $1 million in pavement repairs on M-59 from Van Dyke to Hayes roads starting Saturday night.
“Eastbound M-59 will have two of four lanes closed starting at 9 p.m. Saturday until 5 a.m. Tuesday,” Morosi said. “For weekend work, we usually close from Friday night until Monday morning, but the merchants along M-59 asked us to adjust our schedule because Friday and Saturday are their busiest days.”
On June 25, MDOT will begin a $2 million repair project on north and southbound I-75 in a nine-mile stretch between Ortonville Road and Giddings Road, north of M-59.
“Lane closures will be allowed from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. the following morning Monday through Thursdays,” Morosi said. “There will be weekend multiple lane closures on northbound I-75 from 10 p.m. Friday until 2 p.m. Saturday with a single lane closure in place from 2 p.m. Saturday until 4 p.m. Sunday.”
On the southbound side, there will be multiple lane closures from 8 p.m. Friday until 2 p.m. Saturday and a single lane shut down from 2p.m. Saturday until 2 p.m. Sunday.
Both of these projects are expected to be completed in mid-September.
OK, time to shift gears: MDOT has suspended work and reopened lanes on major highways for the Quicken Loans 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway this Sunday.
The work suspension will remain in effect until 7 a.m. Tuesday with just a few exceptions, including:
One lane of traffic will remain open on U.S. 223 at the bridge over the River Raisin, but the timing of the traffic signal will be adjusted to handle increased weekend traffic.
A detour is in place for bridge reconstruction at M-50 over U.S. 127, just south of Jackson.
MDOT is posting its MIS race day travel information on the web — including maps and information about construction projects throughout the state — at www.michigan.gov/mdot and www.michigan.gov/drive.
By: Tom Greenwood, The Detroit News
