BENTON TOWNSHIP, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — State officials are seeking public feedback as they prepare the first steps in long awaited work to connect two area highways.
The Michigan Department of Transportation is considering a proposal to complete the US-31 extension to I-94 over the next decade, involving millions of dollars in road repairs and bridge construction.
The project has been in limbo since first being announced in 1967, with multiple location studies conducted in the following years.
Representatives from the department held a public meeting at Benton Township Hall on Wednesday, January 15th where they hoped to provide information and hear comments from residents on the multi-pronged project.
The main construction will involve the building of several new bridges, as well as a cul-de-sac for Empire Avenue on both sides of US-31. A bridge was previously planned for that route but was de-prioritized over concerns of its $5 million dollar price tag, with the two cul-de-sacs costing a mere $96,000 instead.
The project also involves a complete reconstruction of the I-94 interchange at Exit 33, which would cap the planned connection between the two highways. MDOT officials say that each of the proposed bridges across US-31 would be built in sequence.
MDOT was given $20 million dollars in grant funding to be used discretionarily to complete US-31 relocation from Napier Avenue to I-94 in 2018.
With final work slated to begin later this fall, the department and local planners are hoping to have the new stretch of highway open to traffic by the fall of 2020.
