Grand River Avenue construction in Brighton to cause lane closures, delays
BRIGHTON - City officials say road and underground utility work on a busy stretch of Grand River Avenue will impact thousands of motorists over the next several months.
The city plans to resurface all lanes of Grand River Avenue from Ore Creek, near Cross Street, to East St. Paul Street, and between West North Street and the city limits at Appian Way. The roadwork will include replacing some curbs and ADA ramps along the road.
Before resurfacing work can start, contractors will repair or replace two sewer lines that cross the road, a water lead and a sanitary sewer stub.
The utility and roadwork is expected to cause lane closures and traffic problems starting this month and continuing through November.
Utility work to lead the way
Department of Public Works Director Marcel Goch said the underground utility work will start later this month.
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Goch said work will include emergency repair of a sewer line at Liberty Street and Grand River Avenue and replacement of another sewer line to the north.
Lane closures for utility work will be intermittent and last for approximately four weeks, city officials said in a release.
Goch said traffic on the five-lane road, including a center turn lane, will be reduced to two lanes.
While traffic will be maintained in both directions, Goch advises people plan to detour around the construction.
"If they can, avoid downtown for a little while," he said.
Lane closures will be needed for work on a water lead at Flint Street and sanitary sewer stub at Spencer Street.
Then the roadwork starts
Once utility work is complete, roadwork will get underway.
Goch said the contractor will determine when different portions of Grand River Avenue will be under construction.
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"The (resurfacing) work on Grand River itself will be night work," he said. "Some headaches will be avoided."
Goch said resurfacing Grand River Avenue and related work is expected to cost about $2.2 million. Federal aid through the Huron Valley Federal Aid Committee will cover $1.8 million, with the remainder of the cost covered by the city.
Big project could have been bigger
The city is delaying plans to fix four side streets along Grand River Avenue.
The city's original plan was to install asphalt, concrete curbs, gutters and sidewalks on Beaver Street, Liberty Street, Flint Road and Spencer Street between Grand River Avenue and East Street this year.
Goch said bids came in too high when the other streets were included.
"When the price come in, the price was so elevated," he said. "We can’t afford to do both. We're going to stay on the side of caution and not do that now. We're going to just do the Grand River portion."
He said his goal is go out to bid for the four side streets next year.
Contact Livingston Daily reporter Jennifer Eberbach at jeberbach@livingstondaily.com.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Grand River Avenue construction in Brighton to cause closures, delays
