Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Another update on yet another construction project that will be picking back up this month – but the end is in sight.

The US-23 Flex Route project will be resuming in the Green Oak Township area and it marks the home stretch for those impacted.

MDOT Project Engineer Mike Royalty told WHMI they are closely monitoring long-range weather forecasts to determine the optimal time for the contractor to resume work on the remaining components of the project. He said they’re looking at beginning the third week of March, which will start with implementing some traffic shifts and closing a couple of ramps at the M-36 interchange.

Royalty said the majority of the outstanding work is concentrated in the southern-most mile of the project, spanning from just south of M-36 to just north of M-36.

To facilitate the completion of those tasks, he said there will be periodic single-lane closures during off-peak hours, as well as necessary traffic shifts on both northbound and southbound US-23.

Additionally, Royalty said they anticipate that the ramps at the M-36 interchange and M-36 under US-23 will need to be closed for approximately three weeks to finalize bridge work. After re-opening M-36 to traffic, Silver Lake Road under US-23 will require a brief closure, approximately one week, to complete final punch list items on the bridges.

Royalty assured they will have message boards to keep the public informed, but they can also visit the MDOT Mi Drive website to view upcoming ramp and lane closures. That link is provided, along with another to the project page.

Royalty noted this is the final year of the project and they’re hoping to be completely done with the Flex Lane operational by sometime in June. He said hopefully by early June but if not, definitely before the 4th of July.

As far as traffic goes, Royalty added they expect to have minimal impact throughout the season – and “it won’t be anything like what motorists have experienced the last three years on the freeway itself”. He further thanked everyone for their patience as they work to enhance the important corridor.