Highway and Road Construction Updates

[MJLO]

Is there a plan to ever widen the Ford FWY  from 131 out to Baldwin?

[GR8scott]

Wow WB 196 bridge over the grand is finally happening?! I really hope they do something to make it more visually appealing. Somewhat of a blown opportunity with the 131 rebuild 10 years ago. Look at Rochester NY

[mpchicago]

12 minutes ago, GR8scott said:

I really hope they do something to make it more visually appealing. Somewhat of a blown opportunity with the 131 rebuild 10 years ago. Look at Rochester NY

I wouldn't count on it, and it will be a missed opportunity.

Here is the Frederick Douglass–Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge in Rochester, finished in 2007.  The bridge it replaced was 50 years old and was as boring as the I-196 bridge over the Grand.

Edited February 10, 2016 by mpchicago

[Raildudes dad]

5 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

Interesting that they would stop 3 lanes at Maryland. Is that because the big interchange is going to be reworked in a separate project? 

MDOT's page shows widening of the I-196 bridge over the Grand River starting this year and the widening of I-196 from Fuller to the I-96 split by 2018. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My source says they are stopping at Maryland because MDOT doesn't have the money to rebuild the interchange. Same with the I-196 over the Grand. All they are doing is foundation and pier work, nothing on the superstructure. You will never see as signature bridge if MDOT doesn't get pushed by by local gov't, the DDA  or Grand Action (if they still exist)

All the Mlive commenters pee and moan over raising the gas tax but that is what is needed to fix I96/I196/Beltline and many other places. And then there are those that want us all to take the bus, build BTR's and streetcars.

[GRDadof3]

1 hour ago, Raildudes dad said:

My source says they are stopping at Maryland because MDOT doesn't have the money to rebuild the interchange. Same with the I-196 over the Grand. All they are doing is foundation and pier work, nothing on the superstructure. You will never see as signature bridge if MDOT doesn't get pushed by by local gov't, the DDA  or Grand Action (if they still exist)

All the Mlive commenters pee and moan over raising the gas tax but that is what is needed to fix I96/I196/Beltline and many other places. And then there are those that want us all to take the bus, build BTR's and streetcars.

I thought the effort/proposal to raise the sales tax by 1% for roads was an excellent idea, at least in its original form (until it was tweaked to include a bunch of BS). 

[Guest]

I find it strange how people get so up in arms about a tiny raise in taxes in order to improve their state.  After moving back to MI after living in CO for about five years the difference really is night and day.  My total income tax out there was about 30%, compared to about 20% here, it was definitely worth it.  They also have a lower state tax, but there is a county and city tax added on as well which came to about 8 or 9%.  Roads were repaired if not resurfaced annually, the schools were better, if a highway needed to be built or rebuilt, it got done.  Where I lived all of the in town transportation was free and the inter-county transportation was subsidised by the county tax.  Communities also collected and spent millions of tax dollars on landscaping, parks, municipal buildings and just generally making their communities aesthetically pleasing.  All of the above provided year-round, well paying jobs for a typically seasonally based economy.   The quality of life in general was a lot better.  It seems like things just don't get done here, or when they do it's just too little too late.  Perhaps it's just a Michigan/Midwest mentality?  

[organsnyder]

10 hours ago, Floyd_Z said:

Perhaps it's just a Michigan/Midwest mentality?  

A lot of it has to do with gerrymandering. Our state congress does not represent the demographics of the people. Thankfully, in GR at least we're willing to patch some of the holes with local taxes; though we can never come close to the funding we'd have if Lansing got its act together.

[GRDadof3]

17 hours ago, Raildudes dad said:

My source says they are stopping at Maryland because MDOT doesn't have the money to rebuild the interchange. Same with the I-196 over the Grand. All they are doing is foundation and pier work, nothing on the superstructure. You will never see as signature bridge if MDOT doesn't get pushed by by local gov't, the DDA  or Grand Action (if they still exist)

All the Mlive commenters pee and moan over raising the gas tax but that is what is needed to fix I96/I196/Beltline and many other places. And then there are those that want us all to take the bus, build BTR's and streetcars.

It would be a great Grand Action project, if tied in with the rapids restoration. Especially if it had the hanging trail and observation area to watch kayakers and fisher-people, like I found a few years ago in Virginia. They're becoming very popular, as I keep finding more examples of them. This one's in Montana. 

 

 

[discgrab21]

23 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

It would be a great Grand Action project, if tied in with the rapids restoration. Especially if it had the hanging trail and observation area to watch kayakers and fisher-people, like I found a few years ago in Virginia. They're becoming very popular, as I keep finding more examples of them. This one's in Montana. 

 

 

Milwaukee has one in the neighborhood I lived in for 3-years.  It was an easy walk to, and across the river, right to Lakefront Brewery 

Edited February 11, 2016 by discgrab21

[Raildudes dad]

Whether or not you believe it, Michigan is suffering from the lost decade  Both the Engler and Granholm administrations tried borrowing to prosperity for MDOT. It didn't work and MDOT struggles due to that. The recent gas tax proposal will pay off the debt over the next 4 years and hopefully MDOT will be able to do some capacity improvements.

MDOT also needs to get out of the OMNG, there's a couple cracks in the surface so it needs to be milled and filled. I just shake my head when they mill and fill a road that needs some crack sealing to get more life out of the road. MDOT had multiple buyouts of their experienced employees during the lost decade and before and it has really hurt their program. They also have some personnel issues that result in people not staying in positions for any length of time. The relative lack of experience in positions  also hurts their programs.

 

 

 

[arcturus]

16 hours ago, Floyd_Z said:

The quality of life in general was a lot better.  It seems like things just don't get done here, or when they do it's just too little too late.  Perhaps it's just a Michigan/Midwest mentality?  

It's all relative.  Try living in Arizona.  You'll think Michigan is progressive.

[GRDadof3]

8 hours ago, discgrab21 said:

Milwaukee has one in the neighborhood I lived in for 3-years.  It was an easy walk to, and across the river, right to Lakefront Brewery 

See, they're everywhere! But here!

[GR8scott]

 

Look what I found in the suggested thread from 2007......"A Grand Vision" 

[uncus]

[GRDadof3]

On 7/9/2015 at 10:49 AM, GRDadof3 said:

Update on the Pearl Street gateway rebuild. Still slated to be finished by end of July. This along with the new Wolfgang Puck restaurant on the front of AGP will be transformative for this entry into downtown. You guys knew that already but just sayin.  

 

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2015/07/when_pearl_street_at_us_131_co.html#incart_river

The final pieces of this Pearl Street gateway project will be completed starting this Spring/Summer. It will included decorative lighting for the trees, the US-131 underpass and abutments, and enhancements to the river overlook area in front of the Public Museum adjacent to the river, and enhanced treatments/lighting to the tunnel under Pearl. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GRDadof3]

FYI fellow road-warriors, the work they've been doing on 131 near Ann Street is about to get more intense (lane closures on 131 North of downtown through July)

The following ramps will be closed during different stages of the project:

• The Turner Avenue (just north of Ann Street) ramp to southbound US-131;
• The southbound US-131 ramp to Leonard Street;
• The eastbound I-196 ramp to southbound US-131; and
• The southbound US-131 ramp to Pearl Street.

Throughout the duration of the project, a double lane closure will be in place on the weekends from W. River Dr.  to Pearl Street, and a single lane closure will be in place weekdays from W. River Dr. to Leonard Street. 

The Turner Ave on-ramp (just north of Ann Street) will be closed until mid-July.  The southbound US-131 off-ramp to Leonard Street will be closed until mid-July.

http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-9621_11008-372624--,00.html

 

 

 

[discgrab21]

23 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

FYI fellow road-warriors, the work they've been doing on 131 near Ann Street is about to get more intense (lane closures on 131 North of downtown through July)

The following ramps will be closed during different stages of the project:

• The Turner Avenue (just north of Ann Street) ramp to southbound US-131;
• The southbound US-131 ramp to Leonard Street;
• The eastbound I-196 ramp to southbound US-131; and
• The southbound US-131 ramp to Pearl Street.

Throughout the duration of the project, a double lane closure will be in place on the weekends from W. River Dr.  to Pearl Street, and a single lane closure will be in place weekdays from W. River Dr. to Leonard Street. 

The Turner Ave on-ramp (just north of Ann Street) will be closed until mid-July.  The southbound US-131 off-ramp to Leonard Street will be closed until mid-July.

http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-9621_11008-372624--,00.html

 

 

 

I am glad I live south of downtown.  On the news this morning they were talking about traffic being backed up to 10-mile .  That is going to be a rough few months for morning commuters.

[GRDadof3]

3 hours ago, discgrab21 said:

I am glad I live south of downtown.  On the news this morning they were talking about traffic being backed up to 10-mile .  That is going to be a rough few months for morning commuters.

Not to mention Sunday traffic coming back from Up North this summer. It already backs up to 14 Mile and beyond as it is. Eesh!!!

[Raildude's dad]

It will get some what better by the end of the week. Some folks will find alternate routes. No one takes an alternate route until they get in one of these backups.

[GRDadof3]

I saw an update on this project on FB yesterday and now I can't find it, but I-96 and Cascade Rd are about to get really messy over the next week or so. Traffic will be shifted to the new South bridge, and I-96 will actually be closed for a few days while they tear down the old bridge. Highway traffic will be re-routed up the off ramps and back down the on ramps for a few days. In addition, I think it said that Cascade Rd will be completely shut down over a couple of nights. 

Still looking..

 

[GRDadof3]

There's a big project (mentioned earlier in this thread) being reviewed by the city for the Westbound I-196 bridge over the Grand River. It will involve adding another lane to the Westbound side and repairing the entire bridge, requiring the complete closing of I-196 from the Ottawa exit to 131 in 2018. They'll also need to repair and increase the riverbed piers that support the bridge, requiring peninsulas to be built on each side of the river and about halfway into the river for hauling fill. (one side of the river will be done at a time).

Pretty massive project for just adding one lane, but that Westbound bridge is a pinch point. $20 Million pricetag. 

The entire agenda + some cool engineering drawings. 

http://grcity.us/engineering-department/BoardsCommissionAndAuthority/DT Agenda 07.27.16.pdf

 

 

 

[joeDowntown]

Bumping this topic. This would be a good place to continue the discussion about Highway / Road improvements, etc. 

Thanks, 

Joe

[WMrapids]

Here's a photo of the fix on Cascade from the plane. I thought it was pretty neat.

[wingbert]

That "fix" is just the most ridiculous boondoggle.  You want to fix that area, you need to fix the bottleneck on the highway that backs up westbound from Fulton to 28th street every day at 5:00.  Maybe you shouldn't have four or five stoplights packed into a quarter mile stretch of Cascade road right at the highway.  Perhaps if the Fulton interchange were actually a full set of off and on ramps in each direction then half that traffic wouldn't need to logjam the Cascade road interchange in order to get on the highway.  This whole thing stinks of someone who really wanted to show off this new overpass design and decided to stuff it in this spot.  It's going to fix nothing.

[x99]

13 minutes ago, wingbert said:

  It's going to fix nothing.

The theory is that the carrying capacity of a diverging diamond interchange vastly exceeds a traditional interchange and expedites traffic flow.  Per Wikipedia: 

" the design can improve the efficiency of an interchange, as the lost time for various phases in the cycle can be redistributed as green time—there are only two clearance intervals (the time for traffic signals to change from green to yellow to red) instead of the six or more found in other interchange designs. "

Whether that actually improves the mess on the highway.... who knows.