M-72 will be closed just west of the M-22 intersection near Greilickville Monday.
The closure will last approximately four weeks with an estimated end date of March 3. East- and west-bound traffic will be detoured on county roads and Traverse City streets.
The project was initially slated to start Jan. 13, but it was pushed back while contractors secured the necessary permits. The contractor, Team Elmers, is moving underground electric utilities in preparation for more extensive work that’s scheduled to begin in mid-April – most notably, a new roundabout at the M-22/M-72 intersection.
M-72 will be closed to thru-traffic between Bugai Road/Gray Road and the M-72/M-22 intersection. The highway will be completely closed from Incochee Woods Drive/South Meridian Drive to the intersection with M-22.
When it’s completed, the roundabout may ease traffic backups at the threeway stoplight near Tom’s Food Market, which regularly occur in the summer. But construction will likely cause many delays, as almost everyone who enters and leaves Leelanau County via Traverse City passes through here.
This is because the nearest detour is over a mile south of the M-22/M-72 intersection, just west of the Munson Medical Center Campus. Drivers can take Cedar Run Road for about twoand- a-half miles before turning north on Gray Road to M-72.
Many vehicles went this way during the Grandview Parkway/ Front Street project in Traverse City last year, and some officials noticed these roads were not built with this much traffic in mind. The Cedar Run/Gray Road intersection currently has a stop sign, but only southbound traffic must stop. A temporary traffic signal is being installed here in response to safety concerns.
Utilities work in February will not have direct impacts on northand south-bound vehicles entering and leaving the county via M-22. MDOT has not yet announced traffic changes for the mid-April roundabout project.
According to a Jan. 21 MDOT press release, the state plans to rebuild over two miles of M-72 from Division Street and M-22 to Cherry Bend Road in Elmwood Township this year. The project costs about $26 million and includes the roundabout mentioned above. It will also bring increased sidewalk accessibility and drainage improvements.
Detours listed in the MDOT press release include:
• Eastbound M-72 traffic to northbound M-22 will be detoured north on South Bugai Road and east on Cherry Bend Road to M-22.
• Eastbound M-72 traffic to Traverse City will be detoured on Tilton Road, Cedar Run Road, West Front Street, and Division Street to M-72.
• Westbound M-72 traffic from Traverse City will be detoured on Division Street, West Front Street, Cedar Run Road, and Gray Road to M-72.
• Southbound M-22 traffic to westbound M-72 will be detoured west on Cherry Bend Road and south on South Bugai Road to M-72.
• Eastbound M-72 truck traffic to northbound M-22 will be detoured north on South Bugai Road/South Lake Leelanau Drive, east on East Bingham Road, north on South Center Highway, and east on 4th Street to M-22.
• Eastbound M-72 truck traffic to the Elmwood Township/ Greilickville area will detour north on Bugai Road and east on Cherry Bend Road to M-22.
• Southbound M-22 truck traffic to westbound M-72 will be detoured west on Cherry Bend Road and south on South Bugai Road.
Bay Street from M-72 to US-31/M-37 (Division Street) and several intersections will be closed. Ramsdell Road and Monroe and Madison streets will all be closed to thru traffic.
The following portions of roads will also be closed to thru traffic: East Carter Road from M-72 to M-22, Barney Road from Gray to Cedar Run roads, Harris Road from Cedar Run to Barney roads, and East Lincoln Road from Bugai and Cherry Bend roads.
