WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
The reconstruction of U.S. 131 in and around Three Rivers is about a week behind schedule due to the volume of rain last month.
Still, Michigan Department of Transportation officials are confident they will be able to make up the delay and finish the calendar year on schedule.
MDOT’s Nick Schirripa said the two-year, $20 million undertaking is no different than other road projects around the state, where unseasonably wet weather has brought progress to a standstill.
Schirripa said the greatest concentration of work this summer focuses on the U.S. 131/M-60 interchange at the south end of the route, and U.S. 131 at Hoffman Road and the nearby bridge work at the Rocky River.
He said perhaps the biggest modification is the reconfiguration of U.S. 131 at its southern intersection with M-60, which has been altered into a traditional intersection with the crossroads meeting at 90-degree angles.
A similar intersection modification will be made next summer at the northern intersection of the two routes. He said a so-called “slip ramp” that currently services northbound U.S. 131 traffic onto eastbound Michigan Avenue will be removed as a result.
Schirripa said this year’s work is slated to conclude Nov. 15.
