Next year’s road construction season will bring $52 million in projects to four stretches of the busy Michigan Avenue corridor in Wayne County.
The Michigan Department of Transportation is planning work on four segments of US-12 in Van Buren Township, Canton Township, Wayne and Dearborn in 2027, ranging from road reconstruction to resurfacing, concrete repairs, drainage improvements and new traffic signals.
All four projects are expected to begin in early to mid-April, said Dave Harris, an MDOT construction engineer who spoke about the project during an open house earlier this month at Wayne City Hall.
“They unfortunately have to happen all at the same time because each one will take basically the whole construction season,” Harris said, noting
the Dearborn project is expected to wrap up around the end of October, while the others will likely stretch until around Thanksgiving. The projects include:
- Wayne/Washtenaw county line to Belleville Road in Van Buren and Canton townships: From the county line to east of Denton Road, MDOT will remove the existing concrete pavement and replace it with asphalt. From east of Denton to west of Belleville Road, crews will repair sections of concrete pavement. Traffic signals at US-12 Business Route and Denton Road will also be upgraded. One lane will remain open in each direction, with detours during closures at Denton and Beck roads.
- Haggerty Road to Lotz Road in Canton Township: MDOT will replace existing pavement with new asphalt and make drainage improvements on Michigan Avenue through the Interstate 275 interchange. A new sidewalk will be added along eastbound Michigan Avenue from Haggerty Road to the existing sidewalk west of Lotz Road. At least one lane will remain open in each direction, with temporary ramp closures and detours.
- West of Pershing Street to Howe Road in Wayne: Eastbound Michigan Avenue will be reconstructed with new asphalt and drainage improvements. The project also includes driveway and sidewalk replacement, new signs and ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps. At least one lane will remain open in each direction with some intersection closures and detours.
- Gulley Road to Elm Street in west Dearborn: MDOT will mill and resurface Michigan Avenue and upgrade traffic signals and ADA sidewalk ramps at Nowlin, Military, Howard, Mason and Brady streets. At least one lane will remain open in each direction during construction.
Harris said the goal is to ensure customers can get to businesses during construction.
“That's going to be a big piece of what we absolutely need to do,” he said. “Whether that's temporary gravel or asphalt millings … we're going to try to maintain access to everybody as much as possible. That’s the plan.”
Mike Szuch, director of public services for the city of Wayne, said city leaders are looking forward to the project.
“It’s long overdue,” Szuch said. “We need to improve Michigan Avenue for the pedestrians and the safety of the motoring public. The roadway is deteriorated, so are some of the adjacent sidewalks.”
The city also hopes to take advantage of the construction to replace older water-main leads beneath Michigan Avenue, he said.
“There’ll be delays, that’s part of the process,” Szuch said. “But short-term pain for a long-term gain.”
In Canton Township, Municipal Services Director Dave Norwood said he is particularly glad to see improvements coming to the stretch of Michigan Avenue through the I-275 interchange.
It’s gotten beat up from all the construction that’s happened over the past 10 years," Norwood said. “So we’re pretty happy about getting that done.”
Harris said the projects are moving forward now because of both the condition of the roads and the availability of funding.
“A lot of these just either need that TLC right now to get them up to a better, smoother ride for folks to make it safe for everybody,” he said.
The projects are being funded through a mix of federal and state money, with the majority expected to come from federal sources, Harris said.
Contact reporter Laura Colvin: lcolvin@hometownlife.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: $52 million project looms for Michigan Avenue drivers
