BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WJRT) – (5/27/2021) – Governor Gretchen Whitmer spent Thursday morning in Buena Vista Township touring the major construction project at I-75 and M-46.
Crews are about a year into the 2.5 year job.
“I think it’s important to highlight the great work that’s being done,” the Governor said. “You know, we are fixing the damn roads. I know we’ve all been focused on COVID, necessarily so. But, we’ve also been doing a lot of work across the state.”
Governor Whitmer’s Rebuilding Michigan plan is focused specifically on reconstructing highways and bridges across the state.
She said the I-75 and M-46 interchange is vital to the Nexteer Automotive Plant. This estimated $63-million project started in March last year.
Crews replaced the bridge and turned the cloverleaf design into roundabouts. Now on I-75, they’re raising what used to a be a railroad grade 22-feet, by backfilling it with a lot of dirt.
“Making the road safer by having a flatter grade out there,” Construction Manager Brian Ulman explained. “We’re eliminating the pump station that on occasion would fail and we’d have water on the roadways.”
The Governor called it a creative way to solve a potential safety problem for drivers.
“Gonna make the quality of life better for people who live here and travel through this part of our state,” she said. “But also, this is an economic hub, and this is a critical part of our overall economic infrastructure and reboot of our economy coming out of COVID.”
And speaking of this project’s location, MDOT said they designed their work area in a way they’re hoping will avoid backups — of course with Up-North holiday weekend travel in mind.
“Just be patient with us out there,” Ulman asked.
MDOT Director, Paul Ajegba added, “Please, slow down, consider the people working here, they would like to go home safe to their families as well.”
The work on this specific section of I-75 is expected to be done by November.
But, MDOT said the community can expect to see orange barrels in the area through July 2022. That’s when the overall project is slated to be completed.
This article appeared in ABC 12. For more, click here.