Work resumed on Grandview Parkway/Front Street in Traverse City Monday, bringing rush hour traffic to a crawl. Crews completed the first segment of the project prior to the National Cherry Festival and are now rebuilding over a mile of the U.S. highway from Railroad Avenue to Division Street.
The Grandview Parkway truckline is owned by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). According to the MDOT website, work on this segment is not expected to be completed until November. And until then, people driving in both directions will see frequent lane closures and traffic shifts.
Although not taking place in Leelanau County, this project affects many people who cross county lines to get to and from work. The east side of M-22 ends at an intersection with M-72 and US-31, not far from the construction zone. Anyone entering or leaving the county on M-22 via Traverse City can expect much longer waits at the stoplights dotted along the coast of West Grand Traverse Bay.
According to a recent MDOT project update, crews will spend the first week of the project working on the two lanes on the south side of Grandview Parkway. During this phase, eastbound traffic will share one of the two lanes on the north side of the street with westbound traffic.
“Work activities will be conducted 24 hours each day, through the evening Friday, July 12, 2024. The intent of this work is to implement traffic control measures during periods of low traffic volume while also conducting infrastructure removals in preparation for pipe installation associated with utility upgrades,” the update says.
Westbound traffic will shift to one of the two southern lanes when those are completed, and the construction workers will repeat the process on the northern lanes. This switch is expected to happen in early September, according to MDOT.
The project update also says that the intersection of Front Street and Grandview Parkway will be closed until mid-August, weather permitting. Cass, Hall, and Oak streets have been barricaded and closed, but Union and Park streets will remain open during construction.
This marks the beginning of work on segment two of the Grandview Parkway/Front Street project. Segment one, which consisted of work on US-31 from Garfield to Railroad avenues, was finished ahead of schedule in late June. Before starting the next segment of the project, crews put a pause on the work for the National Cherry Fest from June 29 to July 6.
A Friday press release from MDOT says that lane closures will also be in effect near Glen Haven from July 15-30 while the National Park Service adds leftand right-turn lanes on M-109 at the Dune Climb entrance at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. There will be a lane shift in August for this project, and intermittent lane closures are estimated to continue through Sept. 6.
