Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


It’s going to be a very big construction season with projects and closures impacting the Dexter area next week and drivers should beware as traffic will likely be a nightmare to start.

The Island Lake Road and Dexter Main Street Corridor Improvement Project gets underway with closures on Monday in Scio and Webster Townships. It involves a roundabout and intersection closures and improvements in the area by Jenny’s Farm Stand & Cider Mill and the viaduct bridge.

The Washtenaw County Road Commission will close Island Lake Road between Dexter-Chelsea Road and Dexter-Pinckney Road to construct a roundabout at Dexter-Chelsea Road and construct intersection improvements at Dexter-Pinckney Road. Crews will be working on both intersections simultaneously, along with the gap work.

A virtual meeting was held on the project.

The Road Commission does not own the bridge/viaduct and it is a historical structure. It was stated it is owned by MDOT, so they can’t do anything with it. The area under the bridge will be repaved through a separate contract during the larger project, along with some work to help alleviate flooding under it.

Due to the amount of truck traffic in the area and past incidents, new over-height detection technology is being implemented. An “Over Height Warning System” will help to avoid trucks stuck under the bridge, while the new roundabout will allow for turnaround.
On Island Lake Road, a westbound right-turn lane to northbound Dexter-Pinckney Road will be constructed, along with a center turn lane.

Along Main Street, traffic signal modernization work is planned at Broad Street, Baker Road, Meadow View Drive, and Dan Hoey Road. It was stated people won’t notice a lot of visual work with that as it involves updating signals at the intersections but there will be some improvements to sidewalks and ADA-compliant ramps.

Island Lake Road will be closed to all through traffic. Businesses located within the closure will remain open with one access point. A&W will have access from Dexter-Chelsea Road only and the Westridge subdivision will only have access to Dexter-Pinckney Road. To clarify, there will not be any local access though the construction site to the Westridge subdivision.

Detours will be posted and paved routes, but it was stated there is a high likelihood people will utilize gravel roads to bypass and seek alternate roads – including Wylie Road. The Road Commission stated it will be monitoring gravel roads and working to keep them maintained due to increased traffic.

It was stated the Road Commission has been in contact with the school system, and bus routes are being adjusted accordingly.

The work is expected to be completed, and the roads will re-open to traffic by mid-September. However, all dates are tentative and subject to change due to weather conditions. It was acknowledged that it is a very tight schedule but it will allow the project to be completed much faster than trying to stage it.

In addition to all of that, the City of Dexter will have simultaneous construction.

City projects involve paving Main Street east of the bridge to Baker Road, resurfacing road and on-street parking, installation of a “Rectangle Rapid Flashing Beacon” on Main Street at Alpine Street, ADA pedestrian improvements, and water main improvements.

Links to the project page with presentations and the virtual meeting are provided.

Photos: Google Street View / WCRC