The Michigan Department of Transportation will begin the reconstruction of M-139 between the I-94 Business Loop and just north of the St. Joseph River this week.
MDOT spokesperson Nick Schirripa tells us the two-year, $24.4 million investment will see the road rebuilt and result in a few permanent changes to the traffic flow. Fair Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive will each be two-way streets when it’s all finished.
“Part of it is obviously we need to rebuild M-139,” Schirripa said. “That’s just kind of the nature of highways, that after a period of time they need to be repaired or replaced. So we’re at that stage of that highway’s life. But in doing so and having a conversation with the city and the township, it just made more sense to make those two-way streets.”
Schirripa says there will be a few other changes for drivers.
“We’re building a roundabout at M-139 and Empire Avenue. So over the course of next year, the project will essentially start at the north end and move to the south. So this year you’re going to see everything north of Pipestone.”
The project will also include some culvert construction, drainage improvements, sidewalk upgrades, and signal replacements.
Schirripa says construction south of Pipestone will take place next year, rebuilding M-139 south to the St. Joseph River.
