Drivers on Ann Arbor's north side can expect a summer of road construction headaches
Traffic makes its way down Plymouth Road just west of the US-23 interchange in northeast Ann Arbor Friday morning.
Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com
Roundabout construction and road resurfacing projects are causing major problems for drivers on the north side of Ann Arbor - with at least one detour directing vehicles straight into more construction congestion on Plymouth Road.
And it appears things will get worse before they get better - though by November, motorists can expect a smooth drive along Plymouth Road and three new roundabouts around Geddes Road and US-23.
In the meantime, drivers should leave early or shift their normal route due to a number of concurrent road construction projects on the city's north side, said Homayoon Pirooz, head of the city’s project management unit.
“There’s always more than one way to get to your destination,” Pirooz said. “Avoiding Plymouth Road for a few months will help the workers complete the projects faster and in a safer environment.”
About 25,000 cars use Plymouth Road each day, Pirooz said, and it hasn’t been resurfaced since 1984.
“It was in poor shape and still is, but when they’re done, hopefully it will be in pretty good shape for many years to come,” Pirooz said.
For those who live and work in the area, driving will be a hassle through the summer.
An instructor at Yourist Studio Gallery at 1133 Broadway St. met an unexpected 45-minute traffic delay near the US-23 exit at Plymouth Road on Thursday. On Tuesday, workers had begun resurfacing the road there, and traffic was reduced from five lanes to two for almost a mile.
Studio monitor Renee Baxter said the construction isn’t impacting business - most who come through the studio’s doors are using the space to work on pottery or ceramics or have signed up for classes. Most are Ann Arbor residents used to re-routing, she said.
“But the problem with the north side is that all the alternate routes seem to have construction. You really have to take wide alternate routes,” she said.
Not far from Plymouth Road, the northbound exit ramp and the southbound entrance ramp at Geddes Road and US-23 are closed for a roundabout project.
The east roundabout on Geddes Road and US-23 is taking shape.
Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com
George Lavoie, a research scientist who lives and works on the north side, said construction around the Plymouth and Geddes US-23 ramps has made getting around confusing - he can’t figure out a good way to go northeast out of town.
And given all the projects, he said he’d like to see clearer signs showing alternate routes.
“I feel bad for the people who have to head that way every day,” he said. “I don’t know how they do it.”
Construction projects and closures include:
• A roundabout under construction off US-23 at Geddes Road means the northbound exit ramp is closed, though it should be open in the next week.Traffic is being detoured to the US-23 and Plymouth Road interchange, which is undergoing a city resurfacing project that has squeezed five lanes into two.
“It’s unfortunate we had to do that but we had no choice,” said David Dykman, a project manager for Ann Arbor. Funds had to be spent this construction season, he said.
The southbound entrance ramp from Geddes Road to US-23 is also closed. Drivers will need to make their way down to Washtenaw Avenue to hop on US-23 south, Dykman said.
That closure will remain in place until the fall.
Two more roundabouts are planned for the opposite side of the freeway. Construction on a roundabout at the entrance and exit ramps of US-23 at Geddes Road, and at the intersection of Geddes and Earhart roads, will start concurrently in the next few weeks.
Overall, the roundabouts are part of a larger $5.3 million Michigan Department of Transportation project funded with a combination of city, state and federal dollars. It will also include a new pedestrian bridge between Dixboro to Earhart roads over US-23 and a pathway on the south side of Geddes Road between Earhart and Dixboro.
• Last Tuesday, workers began a resurfacing project on almost a mile of Plymouth Road from Nixon to US-23. Through Sept. 3, that stretch will be reduced from five to two lanes. Then the next phase of that project begins and includes the resurfacing of Green Road between Plymouth and Baxter roads. The total project will cost $2.7 million - $2.3 million of the funding comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, with the city paying the remainder, Pirooz said. The Green Road resurfacing phase is scheduled for completion in November.
• A smaller resurfacing project spans 1,000 feet along Plymouth Road near Broadway, which should be complete by about July 16, though the orange barrels stretch much further than that. Until then, there will be one lane of traffic in each direction, Pirooz said. Resurfacing projects also include curb and gutter fixes, he said.
A number of street resurfacing projects will follow, with more information available on the City of Ann Arbor website.
Juliana Keeping is a reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter
Comments
pmaa
Mon, Jul 12, 2010 : 9:44 p.m.
I live mid-point between these two construction zones and often travel both directions daily taxiing kids around. Although very frustrating not to be able to use the usual routes, it is possible to use alternates mentioned to get around the area. I can't wait for the new Plymouth Road and the roundabouts at Geddes. No more waiting at the bottom of the Earhart hill for the longest red light and no one in site. Just a reminder to everyone that it is summer and lots of kids are out and on bikes. If you choose to go through alternates and neighborhood feeder streets, observe the speed limit and watch out for children. It is frustrating, but not worth an accident with someone else or a child.
Ignatz
Mon, Jul 12, 2010 : 11:33 a.m.
Here's my nickel's worth: Anytime a road in under repair, rejoice. If you need to find an alternative route, look at a map. If you think AA traffic lights are a mess, try driving up and down Jefferson in Detroit. Every place has it's problems, just deal with them as best you can and try to help each other out.
Cash
Mon, Jul 12, 2010 : 11:30 a.m.
Sadly I have to avoid all Plymouth Rd businesses until this blockade is removed. It's a blockade because the traffic light timing is so bad that traffic heading west on Plymouth waiting at the US23 exit ramp has to go through the red light(Breaking the law and taking their lives in their own hands) or they will never move. And I mean never.
JSA
Mon, Jul 12, 2010 : 11:10 a.m.
We'll see how the traffic circles work. I am not optimistic but would be pleasantly surprised to be wrong.
free2eat
Mon, Jul 12, 2010 : 7:21 a.m.
I work at Plymouth and US23, I'm surprised others have not mentioned this...going toward 23 Plymouth goes from two lanes to one. If everyone got in the one late when as soon as they see it...all would move more freely. What happens, those of us in the proper lane have to wait 3,4 or 5 lights to get 20 cars through. You know why...the second lane, everyone jumps ahead. I am a patient and calm person however it frustates me to know end having 100 line jumpers get in the way of my getting home. Everyone please follow the rules, you are no more impartant than me.
tdw
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 8:26 p.m.
Boy some ( not all ) of you people are such whiners.Roads are in bad shape whine,whine,whine.Roads being worked on whine,whine,whine.Gez...
Cendra Lynn
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 7:18 p.m.
Nixon north to Warren to Dixboro south to Ford Rd. interchange with M-14. Much faster than the two miles of garden slugs. Roundabouts work when done right. The roundabouts on Miller are way too small, too close together, with rotten signage. I only just figured out what one of the yield signs was for after what, a year? Watching 18-wheelers go up and over to get around is fun and a terrible waste of our money. Traffic engineers in A2? LMAO. Planning? Not with this administration. Vote for challengers in August: they all are people who listen to citizens, unlike most there now.
Susan Montgomery
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 4:57 p.m.
Coming from US-23, take a left on Green Rd, right on Glazier at the stop sign, you'll get to Huron Parkway. To go downtown, cross Huron Parkway and continue on Glazier past the cemetery, join Fuller at the VA Hospital. Turn right at the hospital and stay on Fuller until it ends on Huron. From the neighborhoods north of Plymouth, take Nixon south to the roundabout, turn "left" on the roundabout to Huron Parkway, turn right on Glazier to get downtown. Voila, you have avoided the mess that is Plymouth Rd these days.
obviouscomment
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 3:24 p.m.
re annarbortownie: I completely agree with you. Have any of these people making decisions been in the rats nest in Brighton off 23? It's horrible. It's like they found something new and went crazy with it. It only helps those who travel it everyday. If you are not used to the area it is such a pain to go through. I haven't been back to Brighton much because I know it's a pain.
Rod Johnson
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 1:39 p.m.
I'm with you that our traffic is bad. I personally think the worst places (Washtenaw, Westgate, S. State...) are due more to badly-configured roads than anything else. I have a hard time believing that any system of light changes would make the immense Washtenaw/23/Hogback snarl any better, for example. And it seems ironic that the city is being criticized for actually doing something to improve one of those impossible places (Earhart/23/Geddes). Roundabouts work! I don't doubt we have some badly set up lights, though. It would be interesting to make a list. I bet at least some of them have sound reasons they're the way they are that may not be obvious. But yeah, not all.
Chris
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 1:04 p.m.
California can restrict work to the evenings as weather is generally on their side. Michigan's outdoor construction is much shorter.
Macabre Sunset
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 12:59 p.m.
Rod, I've been convinced for all of my adult life that Ann Arbor does not employ traffic engineers. If New York City can create a working system with the absolute crush of traffic down town, any city can. There are dozens of examples in Ann Arbor of lights that are so badly set up that traffic simply doesn't flow.
Rod Johnson
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 12:16 p.m.
It works in both directions at the same time? Think about it. THere are two lights at Geddes and 23. If you time the lights so they work eastbound, the westbound people will it both. That works well where there's highly asymmetrical traffic flow (like rsh hours), but is that the case on Geddes? (I really don't know.)
annarbortownie
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 11:59 a.m.
Keep on laughing Rod J. Ann Arbor is not the all knowing. There are a many creative and forward thinking things Ann Arbor has not tried. Have you driven the area I refereed to in the Lansing area? I have and I have driven in Ann Arbor. It works and does not cause congestion on the feeder streets.
Rod Johnson
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 11:16 a.m.
The trouble with the Green Rd. option is that that delivers you right into the belly of the beast. Looping around farther east (i.e. Earhart) makes more sense... as long as you don't go too far and get into the Geddes morass. I think they should just reissue the city map with "Here Be Monsters" where the northeast side used to be. Those of us who are so unfortunate as to work there should get a paid sabbatical. It just makes sense.
sheeple
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 11:14 a.m.
My understanding is that Michigan road signs are not permitted to tell you specifically which alternate route to try. Instead, all throughout the state, construction signs say useless things like, "Seek alternate route." Gee, thanks. Apparently I'm supposed to wander about the countryside like Lewis and Clark, searching for the elusive alternate route. No wonder this state is so popular.
Rod Johnson
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 11:07 a.m.
Roundabouts are great. Three in a row works great on Maple by Skyline, and I look forward to having them on Geddes at that ridiculous bottleneck. Townie: Having lights timed is great, but it only works in one direction. The other direction gets screwed. That's why Division and Fifth Ave. work so well, whereas Huron is such a trial if you hit it at the wrong time of day. The idea that traffic engineers wouldn't have considered that is laughable. Do you think they're going to go "Do'h! Some guy on annarbor.com suggests timing the lights! I can't believe we didn't think of that!"?
AA
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 10:57 a.m.
Come up and out the 'back door' Huron Pkwy to any east-west feeder streets (Glazier, Baxter etc.) to Green Road North.
rog
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 10:36 a.m.
I drive Plymouth daily and Ann Arbor Saline daily. Plymouth was in good shape compared to two small sections of Ann Arbor Saline just north and south of the I94 bridge. Years ago we resurface almost all of Ann Arbor Saline, the next year re-did the bridge, and both projects left one-tenth of a mile just north and just south in bad shape, and we've never finished it. Most important for Plymouth Road, Geddes, Washtenaw, State and Ann Arbor Saline would be one more expressways entrance. Not Nixon road where it would be best for me as a convience standpoint, but around Ellsworth/23/94 to avoid forcing so much traffic to Washtenaw and State with high accident rations. Ann Arbor used to be a tiny city and forcing most cars to two main intersections made sense. While we must not think we're a big town, we can accept shifting from a tiny to small town and not force so many cars together. Ellsworth ramps (on either expressway) would be a wonderful relief for many areas and users. Computerized timed lights are great for a tiny city, and they do need to be adjusted now that certain areas are much busier, particularly important in contstuction areas.
annarbortownie
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 10:18 a.m.
Why are they roundabout crazy?? If you drive out east where traffic circles are much more common they do not put THREE of them right next to each other. Every corner does not need a roundabout!! Take a cue from Grand River between Grand Ledge and downtown Lansing. The lights are timed so that if you drive the speed limit you can go straight through. If you speed you get stopped at a red light. It works beautifully. Plymouth Rd. from US 23 to downtown would benefit form creative traffic engineering!!
Rod Johnson
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 9:49 a.m.
Silly of them to do Geddes and Plymouth at the same time. Looks like people getting off 23 will have to go Earhart-Glazier-Fuller to avoid this mess getting downtown. I'm sure the folks on Glazier will love that.
DagnyJ
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 9:43 a.m.
@MG Agree on the timing of traffic lights and the paced tear down.
MG
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 9:39 a.m.
I don't think the money is the issue as its covered mostly by State and Federal funds (although that is another conversation). I think there are some immediate needs that need to be addressed and some long term issues. BTW, has anyone thought of how difficult these projects are going to be on Art Fair week? Talk about giving out-of-towners a bad experience. Immediate: - Adjust traffic lights in construction area to be more effective at reduced lanes. When you go from 5 lanes to 2 you need longer light cycles. Lights also need to work together to push traffic through areas where lights work against each other. One simple example is at Swift St and Broadway. Avoiding Plymouth because of construction is good, but then you end up at this intersection where the 10 second light only allows about 3 cars to get through. Long Term - In California they are very tuned into traffic congestion and they do 2 things differently with construction projects. They set up and tear down small segments of the project at a time, and they work primarily at night. I think this area could learn a lot from that, especially in working on a project, finishing it!, and then moving onto the next one. It amazes me to see how few times I see workers actually on site at these construction sites. They should learn to put more time into project planning and get one project done at a time, then move onto the next.
MichGirl
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 9:07 a.m.
As the article said, the money needs to be spent now. Washington doesn't know or care about the impact of simultaneous projects unfortunately. What would be helpful is if the author would help identify alternate routes for those of us whose destination is Plymouth/Green every morning. I, for one, will try to work remote more often!
xmo
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 9:04 a.m.
This should be a real "green" project. It will force people to walk, ride their bikes or take public transport. Look on the bright side of this Ann Arbor, you are saving the planet one construction barrel at a time!
Bones
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 9:03 a.m.
Great. More roundabouts. At a time when money is at a all time low. We go and start crap like this.
DagnyJ
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 8:22 a.m.
It is impossible to get around northeast Ann Arbor now. Why did the city have to start this project now, when the Geddes project is still underway?
Neal
Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 7:04 a.m.
Plymouth Road is a major traffic artery to and from downtown A2. How will the construction work affect out-of-towners coming to and going from the Art Fairs? Have the Art Fair vendors been warned about the road work, detours, and lane restrictions associated with Plymouth and Geddes so they can revise their driving plans if necessary?