HUDSONVILLE, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – Trying to get into Grand Rapids from the Lakeshore will be somewhat challenging in 2019.
Michigan Department of Transportation staffers were on hand for an open house at Hudsonville City Hall on Tuesday evening, explaining to a handful of residents and commuters plans for rebuilding I-196 from Kenowa Avenue, which is the Kent-Ottawa county line, to 32nd Avenue heading south out of Hudsonville. About five miles of the westbound freeway will be completely rebuilt in what Construction Engineer Gregg Zack of MDOT’s Muskegon office says will last about 30 years.
“The biggest challenge is traffic control,” he explained. “Eastbound traffic will have to exit onto M-6 eastbound, and then detour to (US) 131.
“The other (challenge) is (that) it’s a very, very tight schedule,” Zack continued. “The contractor anticipates being done by mid-August, and we’re going to get started here in early April, so it’s going to be a tight schedule for a lot of work.”
In addition to the closing of I-196 for eastbound traffic at M-6, the ramp from westbound M-6 to eastbound I-196 will be blocked off, and entrance ramps from 32nd Avenue to I-196. Crews will also install new signs and traffic signals while making improvements to bridges and drainage on both 32nd and 22nd avenues as part of the 22 million-dollar project.
Zack added that the rebuilding of the eastbound I-196 lanes in that five-mile stretch is slated for 2020.
