A rebuild of a crumbling section of Grove Road is set to begin.
Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com
Grove Road in the city of Ypsilanti will be reduced to one lane Tuesday as the road's long-awaited reconstruction project begins.
The road will be closed to southbound traffic, but one lane will remain open for northbound traffic throughout construction, which is expected to last until Sept. 15.
Stan Kirton, director of city’s department of public works, said the official detour takes southbound traffic east on Michigan Avenue, then south on Ecorse Road. From Ecorse, motorists are directed to head south on Harris Road, which dead ends into Grove.
Springport, Mich.-based Mead Brothers Excavating was awarded the $609,000 rebuild. The city is responsible for around $150,000 and the federal government will pay for $460,000.
The deteriorating stretch of road between the Interstate 94 overpass and the city limit at the intersection of Grove and Emmerick Street will be rebuilt. The road will be reduced to two lanes and two bike lanes will be continued from the township. Sidewalks will be added on the east side of the road and Kirton said there will be some stormwater drainage improvements.
The rebuild is the city’s only major summer road project, but it’s an important one both in terms of how deteriorated Grove is and due to the issues it caused with Ypsilanti Township.
Although the road is in the city, only Ypsilanti Township residents live in the immediate area and surrounding neighborhoods, and they were most impacted by the potholes.
“It’s a much-needed project,” Kirton said. “This is one of our worst roads and I’m sure Ypsilanti Township residents will be happy. It’s just a rough piece of road.”
The border between the township and the city runs down Emerick Road, which dead-ends at a southwest angle into Grove. The area south and east of Emerick and Grove is the township. A small slice of land that includes the road north and west of Emerick belongs to the city.
The Washtenaw County Road Commission repaved the road on the township’s side several years ago. During that project, it slimmed the township’s section of the road from four lanes to two while adding bike lanes. Kirton previously said that has caused extra stress on the city’s side.
Tom Perkins is a freelance reporter. Contact the AnnArbor.com news desk at news@annarbor.com.