Tag Archives: traffic light

Widening project on 56th Street set to start around July 9

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A 56th Street reconstruction project includes adding a traffic signal to the intersection of 56th Street and Ivanrest Avenue.

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

 

If 56th Street is one of your favorite routes to take to the RiverTown Crossings or to Maple Hill Golf Course, be warned: starting July 9 you will need to find a different route.

 

It is around July 9 that 56th Street will be closed between Ivanrest Avenue and Byron Center Avenue for reconstruction that includes the road being widen to three lines. 

 

“The addition of the left-turn lane has really helped us be able to put in a traffic light at 56th and Ivanrest, which has been long over due at that intersection,” said Russ Henckel, assistant director of the city’s Department of Public Works. Currently the intersection is a four-way stop. Without the left turn lane, it hindered the city in putting in the traffic signal, Henckel said.

 

Along with the widening of the road, on the north side, a regional pathway of a 10-foot sidewalk will be constructed and on the south side, a standard sidewalk of five feet will be constructed. 

 

Regular traffic will be rerouted to 52nd Street and truck traffic will be rerouted to 44th Street.

 

“Out of all the road work that we have for the summer, the 56th Street project probably will have the most impact on drivers,” Henckel said. 

 

The reason beinging is that the road will be totally shut down to through traffic (it will be open to local businesses and residents) unlike road resurfacing projects where a lane is maintained during a project to allow for traffic flow.  

 

The City of Wyoming has a pretty extensive resurfacing program with this year focusing on a number of the city’s neighborhood roads, according to Henkel. A couple of the bigger resurfacing projects for the City of Wyoming are the west mile and a half of 44th Street from Burlingame to Clyde Park avenues and Michael Avenue from 28th Street to Prairie Parkway. 

 

Bids for the city’s resurfacing projects just went out with the Wyoming City Council expected to review and approve final bids at its July 2 meeting, Henckel said.

 

Total cost for the 56th street reconstruction is around $2.4 million which includes the city’s portion of $630,500. According to city staff, the cost does not include the city’s engineering and other expenses, which will bring the total project to about $3 million. The city will pay for its portion of construction costs out of its Capital Improvement Fund.

Intersection of 56th and Ivanrest scheduled to get traffic signal

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Wyoming, , , , , , ,
A 56th Street reconstruction project includes adding a traffic signal to the intersection of 56th Street and Ivanrest Avenue.

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

 

Within a year, the intersection of 56th Street and Ivanrest Avenue will have a traffic light.

 

At its regular Monday night meeting, the Wyoming City Council moved forward on improvements for 56th Avenue – which includes the new traffic signal – by formally accepting the agreement with the Michigan Department of Transportation for the reconstruction project.

 

The project, which is scheduled to start in July of 2018, will include the widening of 56th Street for the addition of a third lane along with sidewalk on the south side and the widening of the bike path on the north side, said Wyoming Public Works Director Bill Dooley during the Monday night council meeting.

 

“Probably the most key to the people out there right now is that we are going to signalize the intersection at 56th and Ivanrest and that was called for in that report for that development over there at Wilson and 56th Street as well,” Dooley said. The intersection is currently a four-way stop. The development Dooley is referring to is the PUD project the Granger Group has been developing and which has met with much opposition from residents. The Wyomig City Council has table that project to November

 

“We wanted to start this year [on 56th Street] but it took longer to get the right-a-ways for the project which have been acquired now,” Dooley said. “We normally would start first thing next spring but Maple Hill Golf Course has a big 40-year celebration and they asked us if we could wait until that is complete which will take place in June. So we will be starting right around the first of July.”

 

The construction costs are estimated at about $2.4 million which includes the city’s portion of $630,500. Dooley note that the cost does not include the city’s engineering and other expenses, which will bring the total project to about $3 million. The city will pay for its portion of construction costs out of its Capital Improvement Fund.

 

Because there are federal monies involved in the project, MDOT will handling the biding process, Dooley said, adding that the project will be put out for bid this fall.

 

Library Sidewalk

 

The Wyoming City Council also accepted a bid for the construction of a concrete sidewalk and lighting to replace an existing dirt path that residents have been taking to get to the KDL Wyoming Branch campus at 3350 Michael Ave. SW. The project was awarded to Weick Bros., Inc, for $44,209.25, which was higher than the planned budget for the project as safety lighting was added to it.

 

Currently residents east of the library from the Herman Avenue area have been using a dirt trail to reach the facility. With increase use of the trail, it was determined to improve the pathway and safety of residents with concrete and additional lighting, according to Mayor Jack Poll.

 

The Wyoming City Council meets the first and third Mondays of the month at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at the Wyoming City Hall, 1155 28th St. SW. The meetings are broadcast live on WKTV Channel 26 and rebroadcast at 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays.