Road construction season continues
One lane in Ripley thru October
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RIPLEY -- The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Houghton County Road Commission are hard at work this summer repairing roads in Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga and Ontonagon Counties. Projects on M-26, M-28 and U.S. 41 are on MDOT the County Road Commissions' dockets.
The temporary traffic signal on M-26 in Ripley will continue to be in operation thru October. Houghton County Road Commission Highway Engineer and Manager Kevin Harju said delays in receiving materials caused the project to stagnate and urges drivers to be patient.
"They're having a small issue with a delay in delivery of some of the large box culverts," he said. "So, there may be a couple week delay, but it's still on schedule to be completed later in October."
According to Harju, MDOT's section of the project, which goes up the hill on a side street, is slated to be completed Aug. 14.
MDOT Superior Region Communications Representative Dan Weingarten said there are two major projects starting on Monday which will run thru Aug. 21. U.S. 41 will undergo a total closure and detour thru M-26 at Phoenix. Motorists are expected to use M-26 thru the Copper Harbor U.S. 41 intersection, where the road will continue as normal to Fort Wilkins.
Local traffic will be allowed to travel on U.S. 41 between Phoenix and Copper Harbor, the closure will last until Aug. 14, then the project will finish up on Aug. 21.
$333,000 will go into replacing culverts, backfill the guardrails, restoring road slopes and repaving. According to MDOT, the work aims to extend the service life and increase road safety.
M-28 in Ontonagon County between Trout Creek and Agate will undergo maintenance work to replace a culvert east of South Agate Road. Backfill, slope restoration and repaving will be included in the project.
$153,000 will be invested in the project. It is expected to last from Aug. 10 thru Aug. 21. MDOT will use a temporary traffic signal and one-lane traffic during the project.
For more information on MDOT projects in the area, visit mdotjboss.state.mi.us/MiDrive/map.