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Whitmer Announces Road Projects

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 4, 2022 

Contact: Press@michigan.gov

Gov. Whitmer Announces US-31, I-94, M-25 Road Projects 

Projects in Benton Charter Township, Port Huron, Fort Gratiot and Kalamazoo to kick off today

LANSING, Mich. – Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced that multiple road rebuilding projects are expected to begin today. The projects include the final year of US-31 and I-94 rebuilding in Benton Charter Township, the M-25 improvement project in Port Huron and Fort Gratiot Township and the I-94 expansion project in Kalamazoo. 

"We are continuing to fix the damn roads across Michigan to keep drivers safe and save them time and money," said Governor Whitmer. "Since I took office, Michigan has repaired, rebuilt, or replaced over 13,000 lane miles of road and over 900 bridges, supporting nearly 82,000 jobs. I am proud of our record progress to fix our roads and bridges with the right mix and materials, so they stay fixed. The projects we’re kicking off will add to that total and support even more good-paying jobs in these communities. Both my Rebuilding Michigan Plan and the bipartisan Building Michigan Together Plan are helping us deliver on an issue that matters to us all—safe, reliable infrastructure. Let’s get it done."

US-31 and I-94 in Benton Charter Township

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will be completing the three-year, $121.5 million investment to connect US-31 to I-94, rebuild I-94 Business Loop (BL) (Main Street) and the I-196/I-94 interchange, and rebuild I-94 between Britain Avenue and I-196 in Benton Charter Township, Berrien County. 

Work will start today with crews sealing the new US-31 and Territorial Road bridges over I-94. There will be nighttime double-lane closures on I-94 for a week to complete this work. 

Starting Monday, April 11, I-94 traffic will be shifted onto the westbound lanes to allow crews to rebuild 3.5 miles of eastbound I-94 from Britain Avenue to east of I-196. Throughout this work, two lanes will be open in each direction on I-94. 

Crews will continue work to complete 1.8 miles of new US-31 lanes and the connection to I-94. 

This year’s work will include completing the I-94 BL interchange with I-94, which will require closing and detouring the eastbound I-94 ramps to northbound I-196, and from southbound I-196 to eastbound I-94. The closures are expected to start Friday, April 15. 

The eastbound I-94 ramp to northbound I-196 will be detoured on eastbound I-94 to M-140 Watervliet Exit 41, then back onto westbound I-94 to northbound I-196.  

The southbound I-196 ramp to eastbound I-94 will be detoured from southbound I-196 to Red Arrow Highway Exit 1, east to M-140, then south to I-94. 

County:

 

Berrien County

Highways:

 

US-31 to I-94, 94 Business Loop, I-196/I-94 interchange and I-94 between Britain Avenue and I-196 in Benton Charter Township

Closest city:

 

Benton Charter Township

Start date:

 

Monday, April 4, 2022

 

Estimated end date:

 

Mid-November, 2022

Project profile of US-31 and I-94 in Benton Charter Township

M-25 in Port Huron and Fort Gratiot Township

Governor Gretchen Whitmer and MDOT will invest $5.8 million to improve more than 1.5 miles of  M-25 (Pine Grove Avenue) from Hancock Street to M-136 in the city of Port Huron and Fort Gratiot Township. The funding for this $5.8 million dollar project, which supports 64 jobs and is expected to be completed by August 2022, is made possible by Governor Whitmer’s Rebuilding Michigan program.

M-25 improvements include paving, joint replacements, drainage improvements, concrete curb and gutter, and guardrail replacements. Critical bridge repairs to M-25 over the Black River Spillway will include scour treatments, approach work, substructure repairs, and surface coating to preserve the life of the structure.  

County:

 

St. Clair

 

Highway:

 

M-25

 

Closest cities:

 

Port HuronFort Gratiot

 

Start date:

 

Monday, April 4, 2022

 

Estimated end date:

 

August 2022

 

Traffic restrictions:

Traffic will be maintained during all phases of work, but delays are expected. During work on M-25 over the Black River Spillway, southbound M-25 left turns to Holland Avenue will be restricted, with a posted detour.  

Safety benefit: This work will improve the driving condition of M-25 and complete critical repairs to the M-25 bridge over the Black River Spillway, extending the life of the structure.

Project profile of M-25 in Port Huron and Fort Gratiot Township

I-94 in Kalamazoo

MDOT will be moving to the next phase of I-94 expansion in Kalamazoo starting April 9 as crews begin moving eastbound traffic onto the newly built lanes between Lovers Lane and Sprinkle Road.

This is the second year of work on the two-year project to widen 2.7 miles of I-94 from four to six lanes between Lovers Lane and Sprinkle Road in Kalamazoo. The Portage Road interchange is being rebuilt with a single-point urban interchange, realigning Kilgore Road at Portage Road. The $87 million investment connects several I-94 expansion projects from west of US-131 to Sprinkle Road completed since 2008. A video explaining the project is available on MDOT's YouTube channel.

Work for the next couple months will focus on the median (drainage, new median barriers, and shoulder work) in preparation for shifting westbound traffic over to the eastbound lanes around June 1 as crews begin rebuilding westbound I-94 between Sprinkle Road and Lovers Lane, as well as several ramps at the Portage Road and Sprinkle Road interchanges: Portage Road to westbound I-94, westbound I-94 to Portage Road, and Sprinkle Road to westbound I-94.

Two lanes of traffic will be open on I-94 in each direction during this stage of the project, and detours for ramp closures will be posted.

Work in 2022 also will include rebuilding Portage Road from Airview Boulevard to Bloomfield Avenue, and Kilgore Road west of Portage Road. Two-way traffic will be maintained on each of those roads with a traffic shift, but motorists should expect congestion and delays, particularly during peak travel times.

There will be short-duration total closures of Portage Road for I-94 bridge demolition and later to set bridge beams. There also will be a 24-day total closure of Kilgore Road. When those closures are scheduled by the contractor, the dates and detour routes will be announced.

Despite experiencing delays in 2021, MDOT and its contractors anticipate having a majority of the work completed this year and all lanes of I-94, Portage Road and Kilgore Road reopened in December 2022.

County:

 

Kalamazoo

 

Highway:

 

I-94

 

Closest city:

 

Kalamazoo

 

 

Start date:

 

Saturday, April 9, 2022

 

Estimated end date:

 

December 2022

 

Rebuilding Michigan 

The governor's Rebuilding Michigan program is fixing the damn roads while supporting over 45,000 jobs. The $3.5 billion plan will continue rebuilding state highways and bridges that are critical to the economy and carry the most traffic without an increase at the pump. Rebuilding Michigan seeks long-term road health and improvements to the condition of the state's infrastructure. The program will help Michiganders drive their kids to school, commute to work, run errands, or go up north more safely and smoothly. Investments in roads and bridges also help small businesses get the resources they need, where they need them on time.

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