KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – It has been a long held dream for public and private officials in Kalamazoo and northern townships to be able to open up their business and industrial corridor to a major highway.
It could be a game changer for the local economy.
Portage has had that advantage since I-94 was built and most of the industrial growth has occurred there since.
Now Congressman Fred Upton says we could be weeks away from finding out if the “U.S. 131 Penetrator” is in line for funding. The project would add a southbound ramp at the business loop, directly linking the area’s old industrial and business districts to the interstate.
He says with increased truck traffic from the expansion at Graphics Packaging, the improvement is already needed
Upton told the Kalamazoo County Road Commission Tuesday the money would come from the Biden Bipartisan infrastructure funding bill, and he has proposed an earmark that would fund construction of the ramp improvements.
State officials have already allocated funding to design the new ramp.
(reporting from John McNeill)
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