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Posted on Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 5:59 a.m.

Orange barrel season continues: Ann Arbor midway through major road projects

By Amy Biolchini

Orange barrels that sprouted along Ann Arbor roadways this spring are not quite ready to be plucked from the streets.

Major construction projects on two routes — Miller Avenue and Madison Street — are halfway completed, city officials say, and new work is about to begin on Packard Street Monday.

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Fourth Avenue between East Huron and Liberty streets in downtown Ann Arbor was closed for a major construction project for two months this summer. It reopened in early August.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com file photo

“We’re still in the midst of major construction: With Miller and Madison going on, we’re right in the middle of it,” said Nick Hutchinson, interim manager for the city's project management unit.

A $6.5 million project on Miller Avenue that began in early April is still underway. The project entails reconstructing the road between Maple and Newport roads, improving bicycle lanes and adding pedestrian islands and new left-turn lanes.

Hutchinson said he anticipates the work will be complete by early to mid-November.

Mid-November is also when a $3.16 million reconstruction of Madison Street on the west side of Ann Arbor should be completed, Hutchinson said. From Seventh to Main streets, workers have been replacing an undersized water main and preparing to repave the street.

A complete overhaul of two blocks of South Fourth Avenue in downtown Ann Arbor was finished in early August, and a repaving project on Barton Drive is about to draw to a close this month, Hutchinson said.

Monday marks the beginning of a 10-week-long project on Packard Street from Coler Road to Eisenhower Boulevard. One lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction while the road is resurfaced, configured to three lanes and bicycle lanes are added.

Following Labor Day weekend, a complete reconstruction of South Forest Avenue from South University to Hill Street will begin.

The project, which is scheduled for completion in early November, is similar to the reconstruction and installation of the new storm water system on Fourth Avenue.

On the boundary of Ann Arbor and Pittsfield Township, the roundabout under construction at State Street and Ellsworth Road is behind schedule due to unexpected complications with the replacement of a water main. The project was expected to end by the beginning of October.

Crews are in their third out of four phases of work on the project, during which Ellsworth Road to the east of the intersection is completely closed to through traffic.

The Michigan Department of Transportation's largest project in the Ann Arbor area this summer — joint repair to nine miles of Interstate 94, as well as a mill and resurfacing of three miles — has been completed.

MDOT only had enough funds to mill and resurface three of the nine miles of I-94 that had been under construction. The three miles that were resurfaced run from the Scio Church Road overpass to the railroad overpass near State Street.

MDOT is now searching for additional funding to be able to mill the top layer of pavement off and resurface the remaining six miles of I-94 through Ann Arbor that didn’t receive that treatment, said Mark Sweeney, manager of MDOT’s Brighton post.

Outside of Ann Arbor, several major construction projects coordinated by the Washtenaw County Road Commission have been significantly completed.

However, two are about to begin:

Monday will mark the beginning of a major construction project in Ypsilanti Township: Michigan Avenue from just north of I-94 to the city limits of Ypsilanti will be completely resurfaced. The work will put Michigan Avenue on a “road diet”—which will reduce the road from four lanes to three. One lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction.

Repaving work will close a portion of North Territorial Road in Salem Township beginning Wednesday for a week. The road will be closed from Pontiac Trail to Curtis Road.

Construction of a roundabout at Geddes and Ridge roads in Superior Township is on track to be completed by Aug. 30. Crews poured curbs for the roundabout last week and will begin concrete paving this coming week. The intersection has been closed since mid-June for the work.

The replacement of the Ford Boulevard Bridge in Ypsilanti Township was progressing on schedule until Wednesday, when a man is believed to have committed arson on one of the two cranes at the site.

The total loss of one of the cranes has meant that work has been halted until the contractor can find a new crane to rent. Two cranes are needed to prepare the framework so the concrete bridge deck can be poured.

The project was supposed to be completed at the end of August. It's unclear how the destroyed crane will affect the completion date.

Amy Biolchini is the K-12 education reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.

Comments

AlwaysLate

Mon, Aug 19, 2013 : 3:31 p.m.

What's the point of do any kind of work on I-94 if you break your axel getting on or off the Ann Arbor-Saline Road exit? What a disgrace that interchange is...!

AADriver

Mon, Aug 19, 2013 : 1:46 p.m.

So the failed highway project didn't include doing the on/off ramps? They are in about 10x worse shape than the actual highway. I just don't get it, unless ramps would have been part of the project had they not run out of funds.

Jojo B

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 10:09 p.m.

Poor planning, poor prioritization, questionable de-construction projects, and projects that go longer than promised. Is there anything GOOD to say? The comments are depressing but I agree with them.

RUKiddingMe

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 9:18 p.m.

Is the payment to the city for closing roads/sidewalks on public record? Does anyone know the answer to this? I'm trying to find out if the U is paying the city to have South University and its sidewalks closed for months, and what the dollar amount per day or weeks is.

YpsiGreen

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 5:21 p.m.

I have never understood why they start these big, long (de)construction projects all over the area right before school starts and make it a nightmarish mess for everyone trying to get anywhere. They've got all summer and don't start anything until the later part of August? Always seems like poor planning. #logistics

Crono

Mon, Aug 19, 2013 : 4:14 p.m.

There are road projects all over the place throughout the spring/summer. There isn't enough man-power to do every project all at once. And you can't do road construction in the winter in Michigan, it's just not feasible. This is just a reality of living in a car-oriented culture. You have to put up with road construction every year to support the car-driving lifestyle.

AlwaysLate

Mon, Aug 19, 2013 : 3:35 p.m.

It's so it appears to the maximum number of voters that the state is actually doing something about the roads. No point in doing it while we're all away on vacation...

a2cents

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 11:23 p.m.

Could wait till next year and interfere with something else and money is gone and prices are higher.

sttc

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 4:30 p.m.

road diet on michigan avenue is a big mistake... that is a major trunk route.... it needs the capacity. i think they just have too much construction going on concurrently on too many major roads right now, it is making it impossible to get from one side of the area to the other in any reasonable amount of time, and traffic is getting to be beyond frustrating.

YpsiGreen

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 5:32 p.m.

Mich Ave was totally milled and repaved (pretty much overnight) several years ago and I don't think it's in bad shape at all compared to some other less than ideal roads around here.

JRW

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 4:18 p.m.

"On the boundary of Ann Arbor and Pittsfield Township, the roundabout under construction at State Street and Ellsworth Road is behind schedule due to unexpected complications with the replacement of a water main. The project was expected to end by the beginning of October." What is the new expected date of completion?

a2cents

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 2:43 p.m.

Is Nick still interim?

Great Lakes Lady

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 1:28 p.m.

Whoever is doing the re-paving work on N. Territorial is doing a poor job. That road east of US 23 is constantly under repair or re-do..... Is there no one to monitor whether or not the work is up to snuff...or sub par?

JRW

Mon, Aug 19, 2013 : 2:19 a.m.

Sub par road work is a reality in Michigan. Other states with far more harsh winters somehow seem to be able to repair and resurface roads that last for more than a couple years. Michigan seems to have low quality workmanship and low quality materials when it comes to road repair.

tazna2

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 12:59 p.m.

When is Ann Arbor saline road at Eisenhower and stAdium in front of the stadium going to be fixed. Priorities appear to be Packard bike paths

a2cents

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 2:51 p.m.

traffic calming w/ inverted speed bumps

Beth

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 12:48 p.m.

I'm not sure from the article - will Michigan Ave. be permanently changed to 3 lanes in that portion? I know that idea was mentioned before. I have to wonder how they decide which road projects are scheduled when. It seems like waiting to do S. Forest until the students are back in the fall will make things as messy and difficult as possible. The same goes for Packard Rd. - Allen, Pattengill, AA Tech, and Stone School Co-op Preschool will all be affected by that. Couldn't Barton Dr. have waited until fall, so the areas that affect schools could be done over the summer?

Basic Bob

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 3:15 p.m.

I hope the 3 lanes starts east of Hewitt. The traffic west of the intersection to I-94 requires five lanes.

yohan

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 12:44 p.m.

The reconstruction of S. Forest during prime student season (September to November) seems like really bad timing.

Arboriginal

Mon, Aug 19, 2013 : 1:53 a.m.

Man, I was just getting used to Saigon Garden being easy to go to!

leaguebus

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 5:51 p.m.

Those students don't drive to campus and they aren't closing the sidewalks. For others, Church is still open.

Ignatz

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 2:15 p.m.

yohan, I was hoping it would be done by now, too.

Arieswoman

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 11:04 a.m.

Carpenter Road and Ellsworth are a mess. When are they going to be fixed?

Basic Bob

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 3:42 p.m.

"The current flow rate is around 3,500 cars a day. The roundabout will be able to handle 5,000 cars a day," said Road Commission Managing Director Roy Townsend. So if every one of these cars continues south on State Road (which they don't) we could use a three-lane configuration which can handle up to 15,000 cars per day. Why the $32M four-lane boulevard again? And why wait until after Costco was built? Walmart paved US-12, State, Moon, and Old State before they opened. Contrary to public opinion, Walmart got no breaks from the township administration.

applehazar

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 11:03 a.m.

So now what is the expected completion date of the state st roundabout? The article is unclear. Will it be completed this year? Or will snow fly and stop the project.

Arieswoman

Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 12:08 p.m.

The roundabout is supposed to be done by the end of September.