Traveling Up North? Be Aware of a Planned Detour

As our weather gets warmer we’ll once again start seeing the backups on Northbound highways US131, US127 and US23 as Michiganders flock to their summer time hideaways. And we all also know what warmer weather in Michigan means every year, and that’s road construction. There's one tourist destination that will be challenging this year due to a stretch of a northern Michigan highway that will be closed for construction through the summer. Charlevoix is a very popular Michigan place to visit, and construction on U.S. 31 south of town will definitely affect traffic. MDOT says there will be a detour in effect from April 5th through October 30th.

This is part of a 13.3 million dollar state construction project. The plan is to almost seven miles of U.S. 31, that stretches from Barnard/Norwood Road to Barnard/Old Norwood Road. The Michigan Department of Transportation says changes include removing the old pavement, then building new concrete curb and gutter, improve the drainage and replace the water main.

MLive reports

All through-traffic will be detoured on Marion Center and Atwood roads, MDOT said. Local traffic will continue under lane closures with traffic regulators; access to local businesses and residences will be accommodated. MDOT temporarily widened US-31 from Heise Road to Barnard Road in 2020 to help maintain local access during this project.

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So make sure and pre-plan if you plan to travel through that area, as things will be a little different than normal. We certainly have not fixed all of our Michigan roads yet, but it’s good to see continued progress in that area.