A well-traveled stretch of Interstate 96 was shut down in Michigan on Monday to allow for a seven month long construction project.
The portion of I-96 was closed on March 12th and reaches from West River Drive to the Grand River in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
According to Michigan Live, the $10 million project will include road reconstruction at the I-96/US 131 interchange, and improvements to the US 131, Grand River, Coit Avenue, Monroe Avenue, and West River Drive highway bridges. The M-44 connector ramp to westbound I-96 will also be extended and widened and overall repairs will include deck painting and overlay repairs.
Nightly lane closures have already begun, starting at 9:00 p.m. and going until 5:00 a.m. These nightly closures will continue until mid April, when the eastbound lanes will be fully closed until their completion in June. Then, beginning in mid June, the westbound lanes will be closed through mid August.
The detour planned for the upcoming road closure will take drivers south on US 131, then east on Interstate 196 until it reconnects with I-96 on the eastern side Grand Rapids.
The project is scheduled to be completed on October 31st of this year and, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation, will “increase safety, and improve the ride quality and extend the service life of the road and bridges.”