~darn 131 highway

[allbusiness]

131 is going to be 3 lanes from west river until 131 and i96 submerge. <snip>

Submerge? Ooooooh, does that mean a new tunnel under the river?

I crack myself up.

[ericnmu]

i just got back form 2weeks in maine. drove there and back. vermont/upsate Ny/Mine/NH all have perfect roads. so smooth if i fell out of the car with shorts on i wouldnt skin my knee.

Do they have tolls up there?

What are your opinions on tolls in Michigan? Looking at states with tolls (Ohio for example), their highways are nice, and the turnpike is like a vacation with resorts every few miles (rest rooms/food courts).

[snoogit]

131 is going to be 3 lanes from west river until 131 and i96 submerge. from there it is 4 lanes--the right lane will be an exit only lane for ann street (i saw them put up the new sign, and it looks like ann street has an exit only lane,. but now the "exit only" part is covered up) so there is 4 lanes for like 1/4 mile

Isnt that how its always been?

[superNOVA]

The cool thing is that while 131 and 96 crumble - the Lodge in good ol' D-town is being prepped for a total renovation. Guess what the bill will be... Billions. This is just after 696 was totally redone at a cost of Billions...

Could two of the oldest highways in the nation get some f-cking attention please. Do the bridges over here on this side of the State (most notably the only side of the state that still has a pulse) get any worse. I swear, the Detroit metro is doing its best to insure that even those on the West side suffer like they do in their self induced shi-holes.

Complete crap that Michigan is literally spending Billions to gild one of the crappiest cities in the nation for a single sporting event. Is the Super Bowl really going to attract that much of a return?

We have idiots in office, at all levels and on all sides. However, those from the East side prove their idiocy again and again. This is not saying much for the terrible voters over there.

[RustTown]

Tell us how you really feel, 420.

[MJLO]

I just think it has more to do that just the superbowl, no matter how you look at it, Metro Detroit that three county Oakland Wayne and Macomb area, is the most densly populated area in the state. In some cases, the nation. Can someone look at the amount of money spent per capita on the roads in MI? then we could find out if we are really getting the stiff on it. I gotta tell ya SuperNova, I haven't felt left out of the construction at all!!!! That could have something to do with living in the thick of the north side work zone.

[GRDadof3]

We go "Up North" quite a bit in the Summer, and I would say that 131 is in pretty good shape now from Cedar Springs all the way up to Manton. There may be 1 or 2 small stretches left to re-do. But then there is I-196. Is the State allergic to that highway? It is literally worn right down to the sub-layers.

[OneSweetWorld]

Isnt that how its always been?

no, the two 2 lane highways merge into each other, and it makes 3 lanes, and stays 3 lanes until downtown

[GR8scott]

yeah the highways seem to be the worst in the city of GR 131 and 196. 196 especially needs to be totally redone and 3 lanes in each direction at least from Lake Michigan to Fuller. I remember an article in the Press from last spring that was saying it is going to be redone and widen possibly including the I-196/I96 intersection and E.Beltline very soon what ever that means

[torgo]

yeah the highways seem to be the worst in the city of GR 131 and 196. 196 especially needs to be totally redone and 3 lanes in each direction at least from Lake Michigan to Fuller. I remember an article in the Press from last spring that was saying it is going to be redone and widen possibly including the I-196/I96 intersection and E.Beltline very soon what ever that means

I think it was in the transportation bill that was recently signed by George W. Also, a interchange in Jenison at Baldwin and I-196 is supposed to be added.

[GRDadof3]

I wanna know when we're going to get a "Spaghetti Junction" here:

Some of those are engineering marvels (although not very pedestrian friendly)

[NorthCoast]

I think it was in the transportation bill that was recently signed by George W. Also, a interchange in Jenison at Baldwin and I-196 is supposed to be added.

The new Baldwin interchange in Jenison can't come soon enough. It will really help to ease the congestion along Chicago Drive and will also divert more traffic into the sadly neglected original 'downtown.' Hopefully, with some smart, ant-sprawl planning, some pride and ambiance can be restored.

Here is a link to the projects official site on MDOT:

http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-151-...27201--,00.html